Jesus Christ Is Lord

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 

God exalted Jesus to His right hand.

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.

Sing to God, Sing in Praise of His Name

Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. — Psalm 68:4-5 

I love to sing praises to God.

Rejoicing before Him.

He rides on the clouds.

His name is God the Lord.

He is a father to those who have no father.

And a defender of widows.

He adopts the orphans into His family.

And He reigns over us in His holy dwelling.

Alive and well in heaven.

Extol Him!

Sing in praise of His name.

Glorify God the Father

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 

God gives us endurance.

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.

Praise Be to God Our Father

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 

We praise God, the Father of compassion.

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.

They Shall Never Perish

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” — John 10:28-30

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Jesus gives us eternal life.

Just as Christ died and came alive again, we will never perish.

No one will snatch us out of His hand.

God is greater than all.

No one can snatch us our of the Father's hand.

Jesus and the Father are one.

What a blessed assurance.

These pressed flowers remind us that God is our Creator.

No one can snatch us out of His hand.

The God of Comfort

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

God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He is the Father of compassion.

The God of all comfort.

He comforts us in all our troubles.

So we can comfort those in any trouble.

We can comfort others with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

Pray for Those Who Persecute You

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. — Matthew 5:42-45 

God causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good.

He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

And He commands us to love our enemies.

And to pray fort those who persecute us.

So that we may be children of our Father in heaven.

He causes the sun to rise on us all.

Here we are with some friends, enjoying a time of fellowship.

A Child Is Born

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. — Isaiah 9:6 

On Christmas Eve Sunday we went to our church services - twice!

It was a great way to celebrate Christmas Eve.

With worship and song and candlelight.

And we had Kirk's family over for potato soup — which they cooked and brought over!

Delicious!

Today we had my brothers over for Christmas Day for ham.

And Steve made some delicious potatoes, which we finished off completely.

Plus he brought twice-baked potatoes for us to have later this week.

Wonderful days with family.

We are blessed.

Jesus Is the Life

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." — John 14:6 

When Pilate asked "What is truth?" Jesus had a ready answer.

Jesus assures us that He is the way to eternal life.

He is also God and therefore the ultimate truth.

And He is life everlasting.

Our living water.

He refills and refreshes us when we are parched and dry.

No one comes to God the Father except through Jesus, His Son.

Jesus Is the Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep." — John  10:14-16

Jesus is our good shepherd.

He knows us as His sheep.

And We, His sheep, know His voice.

Just as the Father knows Jesus and He knows Hi Father.

And Jesus laid down His life for us.

Even though we didn't deserve it.

Giving Thanks to God the Father Through Jesus

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. — Colossians 3:17

This is a tough one.

Giving thanks in whatever I do.

And doing everything in the name of Jesus.

Being thankful in all of my words just doesn't come naturally.

And doing every deed in the name of the Lord Jesus takes more than I usually give.

But I thank God through Jesus for giving me His Word.

And for guiding me each day.

And for not giving up on me.

The One and Only Son is Himself God

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[a] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. — John 1:18

We have never seen God.

Only Jesus has seen His Father.

And Jesus has made Him known to us.

After all, Jesus is the one and only Son.

He is himself God.

Pray to Your Father

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. — Matthew 6:6 

God calls us to pray in secret.

Not to be obtrusive with our prayers.

Not to expect an earthly reward.

Yet the Lord knows what I'm going to ask well before I form the words.

And He knows what I need most, even when I can't see clearly.

Thank You, Lord, for hearing my prayers and for giving me more than I can ask or imagine.

Do Not Love the World

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.  1 John 2:15-16

God created the world to be holy.

But all have sinned tha fall short of His glory.

As ar result, everything in the world now comes from the viewpoint of sin.

Lust of the eyes, pride of life, lust of the flesh - all come from the sin of the world.

So God commands us not to love the things of the world.

Instead, to love God and His son, Jesus. 

Do Not Forsake Your Mother's Teaching

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. — Proverbs 1:8-9

We pray that our daughter will listen to her father's instruction.

After all, He is a disciple of Jesus and he has years of wisdom.

And I was careful to listen to my mother's teaching.

I loved late-night discussions with her.

She also had the mind of Jesus and years of wisdom. 

I still miss her, even though it's been over 20 years since she died.

God gives us a wonderfu promise when we listen to our parents. 

Their teaching will be a garland to grace our heads.

And a necklace to adorn our necks.

We will live in beuaty and grace.

Today I made scones to celebrate my coworkers' two-year anniversary.

The catch was that they had to be gluten free, dairy free, and sugar free.

So they aren't as good as the cream scones - I made some of those too!

But they'll do in a pinch.

We Have an Advocate

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. — 1 John 2:1 

We are God's beloved children.

And He has given us an advocate in His Son, Jesus.

He is the Righteous One, our Savior.

We are encouraged not to sin.

But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father.

Praise God!

Remain in My Love

If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. — John 15:10 

God gives us commands to help us stay aware of our sins.

But when we turn to Him and keep His commands, we remain in His love.

Just as Jesus has kept His Father's commands.

And He remains in God's love.

A love that never ends.

That surrounds us and comforts us in our times of need.

O taste and see that the Lord is good!

God Exalted Him

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 

God exalted Jesus to the highest place, His right hand.

And gave him the name above every name.

At the name of Jesus every knee should bow.

In heaven and on earth and under the earth.

Every tongue will proclaim Him Lord to the glory of God the father.

And every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The Father of Righteous Child Has Great Joy

The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. — Proverbs 23:24

The father of a righteous child has reason to be joyful.

Kirk's dad was so proud of him and his love of the Lord.

And he was also proud of our daughter and her growing faith.

When God's wisdom enters a child at any age, there is reason to rejoice.

Sing to God

Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. — Psalm 68:4-5 

Sing to God.

Rejoice in His name.

Sing praise to his name.

Extol him.

God is a father to the fatherless.

A defender of widows.

He is in His holy dwelling.

And He loves us all.