And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! – Philippians 2:8
He became obedient to death.
Even death on a cross.
He took on human likeness.
If I had been the only one alive, He still would have died for me.
Fortunately, He died for everyone.
He loves us so!
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. – Philippians 2:5-7
Even though He was God.
Instead, He took on the role of a servant.
He became man and died for my sins.
When we think of His sacrifice, we are humble
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. — Luke 19:10
All of us.
And His creation lets us know how much He cares for us.
His ultimate sacrifice on the cross shows us His love.
While we were still sinners, He died for us.
We are grateful.
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. — Colossians 1:26-27
God has chosen to make known His glorious riches among the the world.
Jesus is the one we proclaim.
So we may present everyone fully mature in Christ,
That everyone may come to know Him fully.
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. — Romans 1:20
And His divine nature has also been clearly seen.
After all, He is the creator.
And He created the whole world.
And His creation is amazing!
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. — 1 Corinthians 15:20-22
He is now alive!
Death came through a man, Adam.
And the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man, Jesus.
Christ is God's son.
Through Him all will be made alive.
Praise the Lord!
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. — Ephesians 6:10-11
When I remember to put on the full armor of God, He equips me to face those challenges.
The full armor of God includes the shoes of the gospel of peace.
Giving me the ability to move nimbly to promote God's deep peace, even in the midst of anxiety.
Letting me help others find peace, too.
Last month we were in Iowa for the funeral of Roger Jones.
Two weeks ago his brother Shelby passed away.
We had a chance to meet Shelby's daughter Susan and her husband and our hearts go out to them.
God's deep peace passes our understanding and covers us, even in the midst of death and sorrow.
God's mightdy power equips me to stand strong again any schemes Satan might throw my way.
Thank you, Lord!
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. — 1 Corinthians 15:1, 3, 4
The gospel of Jesus Christ.
And to listen to God's word when it's preached to us.
We have received and accepted His word.
And we know it is true.
We have taken our stand on that fact.
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. — 1 Corinthians 1:18
It reminds us of Jesus' ultimate sacrifice for me.
The pain and agony Christ suffered so I can live with Him in heaven some day.
He paid the price that I owed.
He paid my ransom.
And He rescued me from death.
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who don't Jesus.
But to those of us being saved, it is the power of God.
His amazing power and grace.
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. — Romans 10:9-10
When I believed in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, I was saved.
For it was with my heart that I believed and was justified.
And it is with my mouth that I profess my faith in Jesus.
He has saved me from sin and death.
For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! — Romans 5:10
While were God's enemies He reconciled us to Him.
He didn't wait for us to get it right!
He reconciled me to Him through the death of His Son, Jesus.
Having been reconciled to Him, how much. more will I be saved through His life!
I am so blessed that God love me and always keeps His promises.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. — Romans 3:23-24
As a result, we've all missed the mark, and we all fall short of God's glory.
We are freely justified by His grace.
And Jesus Christ died to redeem us by His blood.
I am loved and redeemed!
Amazing grace.
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. — Luke 9:23-24
I'm so focused on myself that it's very hard to deny myself.
Not only deny myself, but take up the cross daily and follow Jesus.
The irony is that whoever wants to save their life will lose it.
Whoever loses their life for Jesus Christ will save it.
Really?
Yes. When God says it, I believe i
"He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” — 1 Peter 2:24
He died on the cross to save me.
So that I might die to sin.
And He rose again and ascended into heaven.
So that I could live for righteousness.
By His wounds I have been healed.
And I am grateful.
Now Jesus lives in heaven and sits at the right hand of God.
One day He will welcome me into His kingdom.
Awesome.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. — Hebrews 1:3
He is the exact representation of God's being.
He sustains all things by His powerful Word.
Abby provided us with the centerpieces for our Easter dinner.
These flowers remind me of God's goodness and love.
Jesus now sits at the right hand of his Father in heaven.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. — Hebrews 1:3
Jesus is the radiance of God's glory.
He is the exact representation of God the Father.
And He sustains all things by His powerful word.
After Jesus purified us from our sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.
Although He died, He came alive again.
And He reigns with his Father in heaven.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. — Galatians 2:20
So a group of us walked over to the mall to hang out with her and Kya this week.
Meghan and I had a chance to hold her and watch her smile.
Even though she's too young to know yet, we have been crucified with Christ.
Now Jesus lives in me.
The life I live here on earth, I live by faith in Son of God.
He loved me and gave himself for me.
And for everyone.
Even the little ones who are just getting to know Him.
And He loves us still.
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. — 1 John 3:16
He sacrificed His life for us.
And He shows us through laying down His life.
While we were still sinners, He paid our ransom.
Because He loves us so much.
And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
Most of the time we have a hard time just getting along with each other.
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. — 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
I'm convinced that He died for me and for all people.
He made that great sacrifice so that we who live would no longer live for ourselves.
Instead we live for Jesus, who died for us on the cross.
But He didn't stay dead.
Rather, He rose again on the third day and now lives in heaven.
Christ's love compels us!
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. — Ephesians 1:7
He paid the ultimate price when He died on the cross for us.
Forgiving us of our sins - the wrong things we say and do.
In accordance with the riches of God's grace.
And by His mercy and compassion for His creation.
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. — Hebrews 12:2
When I fix my eyes on Him, He leads me in the paths of righteousness.
He went to the cross and endured the punishment I deserved.
He died and rose again from the grave.
Jesus now lives in heaven with His Father.
He sits at the right hand of God's throne.
And His kingdom will last forever.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. — Isaiah 53:6
We have gone astray.
We have walked away from God and His word.
We have each turned to our own way.
And God has laid the iniquity of us all on His Son, Jesus.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. — Isaiah 53:5
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| Okoboji Snow in April |
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought us peace was on Him instead of me.
By the wounds of Christ, I am healed.
Jesus's blood washes me as white as this Iowa snowfall.
Because of Jesus, I live in peace.
