I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 3:15
So God calls us to press on toward heaven.
Our prize is living forever with Him in heaven.
And our goal is to follow the Lord Jesus,
Becoming more like Him each day.
Growing in the love of Jesus Christ.
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. — Philippians 2:9-11
He lives with the Father in heaven.
That every knee will bow at the name of Jesus.
Whether in heaven or on earth.
Every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is Lord.
And will glorify God, our Father.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.
World wthout end. Amen.
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. — Philippians 1:6
God, who began a good work in us, will carry it on to completion.
And He will continue that work until the day of Christ Jesus.
This week I gave my notice to my coworkers.
I'll be retiring as of August 1.
I'll miss this view from my office window.
And I'll miss many of the people.
But I'm ready to stop working so many hours away from my family.
And my 23-year-old coworker will be moving to South Korea to teach students in August, leaving our company as of July 30.
God is working His purpose out in me and in her.
Very exciting to see Him at work in our lives.
Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. — Hebrews 9:28
He was sacrificed once to take away my sins.
And the sins of all.
And He will come back again in glory.
Not to bear our sin, but to bring salvation.
And to offer it to all those who are waiting for Him.
Praise the Lord!
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. — 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
He will come with a loud command.
With the voice of the archangel.
And with the trumpet call of God.
The dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, those of us who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds.
We will meet the Lord Jesus in the air.
And we will live with the Lord God forever and ever.
What a glorious day!
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. —Romans 15:5-6
He encourages us.
May God give us the same attitude of mind toward each other that Jesus had.
With one mind we glorify God.
With one voice we praise the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Glory be to the God and Father of us all.
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. — 1 Corinthians 1:10
In what we say and do.
So we don't have divisions in the church.
So we are perfectly united in mind.
And so we even agree in our thoughts.
As brothers and sisters in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
A beautiful bouquet of fragrant flowers that complement each other.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
We are praying for healing from her myeloma.
And that there is no sign of cancer.
And through it all, that God's will be done in her life.
Here's the prayer quilt I found for her.
Filled with Scriptures from the Psalms.
So tomorrow she can wrap herself in it while she undergoes her biopsy.
Covered in prayer.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. — 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
And the God of all comfort.
Today we pray for our friend Bob in the ICU recovering from dehydration and the flu.
Lord, we ask for your healing touch on our friend.
Comfort His family.
And give his doctors wisdom to tackle this illness with just the right treatment.
Lord God, may your will be done in his life.
And may you receive the honor and the glory.
For you alone are worthy.
Happy Mother's Day to those moms blessed with that title.
God has ordained you to mentor and nourish your family.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. — Ephesians 4:32
What a special way to start Mother's Day weekend.
He is an example of God's grace.
Showing kindness and compassion to me and to others.
Forgiving just as God forgives us in Christ.
Exemplifying the love of Jesus to his friends and family.
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. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! — Philippians 3:5-8
Even so, He did not consider equality with God something to use to His own advantage.
Instead, He made himself nothing.
He took o the very nature of a servant.
Christ was made in human likeness.
He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death.
Even death on a cross.
Taking on the ultimate sacrifice for me personally.
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 1:27-28
He is the one we proclaim.
God has chosen. us to tell about the glorious riches of the mytery of Christ in us.
He calls us to teach everyone with His wisdom.
So we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.
Growing in the knowledge of Him.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. — 1 Peter 1:18-19
From the life handed down to us from our ancestors.
We were not purchased with silver or gold.
We were saved by the precious blood of Christ.
He gave himself just like a lamb without blemish or defect.
Led to the altar as our sacrificial lamb.
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
Raising those who have fallen asleep.
Since death came through Adam, the resurrection of the dead also came through one man, Jesus.
As in Adam we die, so in Christ we will be made alive.
And we will live with Him in heaven.
Praise the Lord!
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. — 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
And the power of sin is the law.
But we are thankful that God gives us the victory.
And that though the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Death no longer holds the victory.
And no longer has the ability to sting.
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
And everyone falls short of God's glory.
Redemption came to us by the death of Christ Jesus.
And we are justified freely.
By the grace of our Lord Jesus.
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
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Christ is the exact representation of his being.
He sustains all things by His powerful Word.
After Chrsit had provided purification for sins.
Jesus sat down att the right hand of the Majesty.
He now lives with God in heaven.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. — Romans 5:1-2
And we have peace with God through Jesus.
We have gained access by faith into grace.
And we stand in God's grace.
We boast in the hope of the glory of God.
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. — Galantians 2:20
During this Eastertide, we are reminded that we have been crucified with Christ.
I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I live is by faith in Jesus, the Son of God.
I now live in the body of Christ.
He loved me before I even knew Him.
And He gave himself for me.
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
We ate way too much food.
And we walked all over the place, moving quickly from ride to ride.
Abby planned out a busy schedule so we kept going from sun up to sunset.
The fireworks show was amazing.
And the weather was beautiful.
We came home exhausted but happy.
Reminded of God's love for us.
