He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? — Romans 8:32
Rather, He gave Jesus up for us all, even before we knew Him.
He graciously gives us all things.
Now He asks us to give our lives as a living sacrifice.
To share the Gospel of Jesus to all those we meet.
Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. — Psalm 119:165
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. — Isaiah 26:3
Even when the world around us is in war and chaos.
When we trust in the Lord,
His Holy Spirit fills us with a deep peace beyond our understanding.
When we keep our minds steadfast on Him.
The Lord of Peace.
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. — Romans 12:4-5
And each body has many members.
All of those members have different functions.
And they work together in perfect timing, forming one body.
In Christ, the church is one body.
Each of us has devoted our life to Jesus.
And God has a special purpose and function for each.
Together, we work together for God's good.
And each member belongs to the others.
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. — Psalm 116:1-2
He hears my voice each time I call to Him in prayer.
God heard my cry when I begged for mercy.
He turned His ear to me.
And He answered me in love and mercy.
I will call on Him as long as I live.
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, — James 1:19
We are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.
As such, we should be quick to listen.
That's not always easy, but it is what God calls us to do.
And to think before we speak.
Taking our time before responding.
Perhaps asking God the best way to respond.
And taking a deep breath or going for a walk instead of getting angry
When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. — Psalm 94:18-19
When my foot starts to slip, He is right beside me to keep me from falling.
His love is unfailing.
When I start to get anxious, the Lord consoles me.
He brings me joy!
I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. — Psalm 16:8
I keep my eyes on Him each day.
No matter what comes my way, I can rely on Him to guide me.
With God at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
He has my back!
By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. — Psalm 42:8
By day, we feel Him in the warmth of the sun.
And in the cool, wet air of a rain shower.
By night, His song is with us.
Music gives us an opportunity to pray twice — once through the words and once again through the music.
A prayer to the God of my life.
Amen.
I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. — Psalm 16:8
Because God is at our side.
Whether storms are literal or figurative, we can keep our eyes on the Lord.
When He's at my right hand, I can keep going.
And I can get through the storms, knowing that he's at my side.
Even when the strong winds blow, I won't be shaken.
Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. — 1 John 5:12
He paid the penalty for us before we ever knew Him.
Whoever has the Son of God has life.
Whoever does not nave the Son of God does not.
It's rather simple.
Those of us who have Jesus with live with Him forever.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. — Philippians 1:21
Thank goodness for His mercy and love.
This is the plumeria my friend gave us when she moved to Texas.
It wasn't doing very well, but Kirk nurtured it back to health.
And today's it's thriving.
God nurtures us back to spiritual health.
And for me, to live is Christ.
Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. — 2 Corinthians 10:17-18
Instead of patting ourselves on the back, we need to praise God.
He is our Creator.
And the creator of our beautiful world.
He deserves our praises and boasts.
After all, He is God and we are not.
Thank goodness!
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. — 2 Corinthians 7:1
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| Salamanca, Spain |
God has said,
"I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”
Since God has made these promises to us, we should follow and obey Him.
And purify ourselves from everything that contaminates our body.
And also purify ourselves from anything that might contaminate our spirit.
Perfecting holiness out of our love for God.
Letting Him work in us to make us holy out of reverence for God.
If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. — Romans 14:8
And if we die, we die for the Lord.
Here in America, we usually aren't challenged to give up our lives for God.
But we are challenged to live for Him each day.
Either way, we belong to the Lord.
And that's amazing.
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. — Revelation 3:14, 20
These are the words of the one true God.
The Amen and the faithful.
The true witness.
The ruler of God's creation.
Our Lord and Father.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. — Ephesians 2:10
And we are His handiwork.
He created us Christ Jesus to do good works.
God prepared in advance for us to do good things for others.
To bring God's beauty into the lives of those around us.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. — Psalm 46:1
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| Icthus - Jesus, the Messiah, our Savior |
Her mom died.
His dad died.
His wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Her daughter was diagnosed with cancer.
She got married.
Her husband died, the father of their 23-year-old daughter.
She had an anxiety attack.
Her dog died.
She discovered she's pregnant and is expecting her first baby.
Her cat was hospitalized.
We don't realize just how much sorrow exists in our world until it touches us personally.
But through the happy days and the sad days.
Through the hurt and the sorrow, God is our refuge.
And the Lord is our strength.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. — James 1:2-3
They worked hard and added new energy to our marketing team.
One of them celebrated her last day with us today.
She posted a wonderful note of thanks to our team on her LinkedIn.
And she very thoughtfully sent each of us separate notes of thanks.
We are sorry to see her go.
But we're excited for her senior year at San Diego State University.
Go Aztecs!
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. — Luke 12:6-7
Not one of them is forgotten by Him.
The very hairs of our heads are all numbered.
We have no reason to be afraid.
God has stated that we are worth more than a little sparrow.
In fact, we are worth more than many sparrows!
For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. — Psalm 149:4
He created us, too.
And He delights in His people.
He is saddened when we turn away from Him.
But He crowns the humble with victory.
For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us. — Isaiah 33:22
He is also our advocate.
And our Redeemer.
The Lord is our lawgiver.
And the light of our life.
The Lord is our King.
He will save us.
In fact, he already has.
All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. — Psalm 119:160
All of them.
He always keeps His promises to us.
I love His Word.
It gives us light and direction.
His righteous laws are eternal.
You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. — Psalm 119:114
The Lord is my shield.
His Word is righteous and true.
It is living and active.
I have put my hope in His Word.
The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. — Psalm 119:130
It unfolds before our eyes each time we read it.
More understanding comes through God's words each time.
He opens our eyes to greater understanding.
His Word gives understanding to the simple.
Just as the sunrise lights up the sky,
God's Word lights up our minds and hearts.
Giving us His wisdom and understanding.
This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. — Jeremiah 33:2-3
He formed it out of nothing.
The Lord established it.
He created this beautiful sunset we marveled at earlier this week in Palm Desert.
He created me.
Yaweh is His name.
And He says we can call to Him.
In fact, He commands us to call out to Him.
And He promises to answer.
Even more, He will tell us great and unsearchable things we do not know.
Amazing!
I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. — Psalm 119:93
That I will never forget them.
By them God has preserved my life.
And sacrificed His only Son for me.
Preserving my life while giving up the life of His Son.
I will never forget your precepts, Lord!
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. — Matthew 5:14, 16
And the salt of the earth.
He commands us not to hide our light under a bushel.
Reminding us that a town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
We are to share the Good News about Him wherever we go.
Letting the light of Jesus shine through us.
And reflecting His light to everyone we meet.
Welcome, August!
