We Cannot Understand the Work of God

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. — Ecclesiastes 11:5

We cannot know the path of the wind that God creates.

And we can't begin to comprehend how the body is formed in our mother's womb.

God's creation is too intricate for us to begin to understand.

After all, He is the Maker of all things.

His works are beyond our comprehension.

And through them He communicates His love for us.

Jesus Bore Our Sins in His Body

“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 

Jesus Christ himself took on my sins in His body.

He died for me personally and for each of us.

And He went through a cruel death on the cross.

A death fit for murderers and sinners.

All so I might die to my sins.

So I can live for righteousness.

By His wounds I have been healed!

Praise the Lord.

Crucified With Christ

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

Our sermon series this month is reading through Galatians.

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.

In Christ, Each Member Belongs to the Others

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 

Each of us has one body, created by God.

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.

We Have These Promises

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 

Salamanca, Spain

In 2 Corinthians chapter 6, God tells us that we are His coworkers. 

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.

We Cannot Understand the Word of God

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. — Ecclesiastes 11:5

We do not know the path of the wind.

Only God knows that.

Or how our bodies are formed in the womb.

Only God knows that, since He alone is our Creator.

He is the Maker of everything.

 And His works are beyond our undertanding.

We Die to Sins and Live for RIghtousness

"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 

Jesus took on my sins in His body.

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.

I Live By Faith in the Son 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. — Galatians 2:20 

My coworker Aubree had her baby girls 3 months ago.

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.

Let the Peace of Christ Rule

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. — Colossians 3:15

The peace of Christ is deeper than anything I know. 

His peace overflows and overwhelms me when I start to worry.

Making the troubles of life bearable because God is in control rather than me.

As a member of the body of Christ, I am called to peace.

My heart is comforted with Christ's love.

Even when life happens and things don't go my way.

And I am thankful.

In Christ, We Form One Body

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

Each of us has one body with many members.

These members all have different functions.

In Christ we form one body, even though we are many.

Each member belongs to all the others.

And each is beautiful in its own right.

Just as this Plumeria is beautiful.

God created us for beauty too.

We Cannot Understand the Work of God

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. — Ecclesiastes 11:5

We do not know the path of the wind.

We cannot fathom how a baby's body is formed in its mother's womb.

How much less can we understand God's work.

Here's Kirk's cousin Rick's new grandbaby Chase Decker.

Jordan's latest little boy.

We love the way he's folding his hands.

And his fingers look like he could be a basketball player ...

Or a pianist!

We cannot understand the work of God.

He is the maker of all things.

And we marvel at His handiwork.

He Has Reconciled You by Christ's Death

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. — Colossians 1:21-22 

Yesterday for Easter we were overwhelmed with flowers from family and friends.

These are the beautiful sunflowers my niece Carly brought for us.

They brighten the room!

We had a fun time with those who were able to join us - about 14 of our closest family members and friends.

Once we were alienated from God.

We were enemies of Him because of our sins.

But now God has reconciled us to Himself in Christ's death.

Now Jesus can present us holy in God's sight.

Through Jesus we are without blemish and free from accusation.

We celebrate Easter because Jesus died for us and came alive again.

Do Not Worry About Your Life

I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  — Matthew 6:25

Today we got rain, lightning and even hail!

What a surprise after an 81 degree morning in San Diego.

Abby and I skipped our swim date since it was lightning frequently at our house and on my way home from work.

It's still raining several hours later.

This is probably the most rain we've gotten all year.

We didn't even have a chance to bring in our Plumeria plants.

Hopefully they'll survive the weather.

God tells us not to worry.

In fact, He commands it.

One of my coworkers had heart palpitations two weeks ago.

His cardiologist said his heart was fine, but it might have due to stress.

He had given up caffeinated coffee, but was told he could have 2-3 cups per day.

That was wonderful news.

But finding ways to destress will now be the challenge.

God gives us those coping skills in His Word.

Thank You, Lord!

Equipping the Saints for the Work of Ministry

And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; — Ephesians 4:11-12

For the past few months, I've been meeting every other week with a mom from our congregation.

She is joining our church and met with our elders yesterday to confirm that she wants to follow Jesus.

She mentioned how blessed she's been by our times together.

And I've felt the same.

God has brought us together to pray for each other and to share our burdens and blessings.

We are both cancer survivors, and we often feel nervous about what that means for our futures.

She went through chemo 10 years ago. 

Mine was two years ago.

We have both learned to trust in God and put our lives in His hands.

We are still learning to be anxious about nothing.

In three weeks, her youngest son will be baptized.

Thank you, Lord!

Let Peace Rule in Your Hearts

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.   — Colossians 3:15

My friend and singer in our choir Bonnie turned 91 last week.

And then her husband passed away after months of ill health.

Our hearts go out to Bonnie in the loss of her husband.

Our prayer is that the peace of Christ will rule in her heart.

Even (or especially) when we go through tough times, God fills us with His peace.

As members of His body, the church, we are called to peace.

And we are thankful to Him for providing peace and surrounding us with it.

It's April Fools' Day, but we are thankful.

Be Thankful

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. — Colossians 3:15

Wednesday was Ash Wednesday.

Some pastors and priests were using Q-tips to apply the ashes to the foreheads of their parishioners.

But the important thing is that we're remembering Jesus.

As He rode into Jerusalem people were celebrating and waving palms.

The ashes were from the palm branches we used to celebrate Christ's arrival last year.

Now we remember His sacrifice

And the price He paid for our salvation.

Giving His life so we can live with Him forever in heaven.

Dying and coming alive again to forgive us from our sins.

Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts.

We are thankful.

To Live Is Christ

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. — Philippians 1:20-21

Today is the start of Rosh Hashanah, where people begin reflect on God's goodness and and thank Him for the blessings He gives us.

I am blessed by a wonderful family and good Christian friends.

We hosted a fellowship group last night.

Several people were not able to make it, but we had a great time with the couple who did come.

We ate delicious appetizers, caught up with each other, shared the latest news about our kids, and took turns reading and listening to Philippians together.

We talked about the sermon our pastor gave Saturday night and the action steps we would plan to take.

And we thanked God for our blessings.

 

My Heart Is Glad

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. — Psalm 16:9-10


My heart is glad.

I rejoice in the Lord.

My body is at rest.

I rest secure in the knowledge that God is with me.

He will not abandon me.

He watches over His faithful flock and brings us back to the fold.

We were born into community.

Present in Spirit

I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. — Colossians 2:4-5

La Jolla Shores Beach

Paul is warning the people in Colossae to beware of fine-sounding arguments.

As a new Christian, I was often swayed or confused by elaborate arguments.

As I grew in my faith, I became more confident of my beliefs.

I became more familiar with what God's Word actually said.

As I read more Scripture, I learned that God's Word is true for all time.

Now I see His hand in everything I do and in all the circumstances I'm in.

He guides me each day.

Christ Lives in Me

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

Blue Angels Flying in Formation

The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God.

Jesus loved me and gave himself for me.

I have been crucified with Christ.

I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

Friday my sister-in-law was on her deck in Virginia when the Blue Angels did a fly-over.

She caught them in the air in this photo taken from her phone.

Fortunately, she did not have to join the crowds to see the fly-over.