Keep His Commands and Obey Him

It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. — Deuteronomy 13:4

God asks us to follow Him, even through the valleys of life.

Last week, my fellow singer Patti lost her son-in-law after a long illness.

And another singer Linda lost her sister.

Following God through the valleys and revering Him helps us get through these rough times.

Serving Him can be more of a challenge during the good times.

It's easy to ignore Him and forget to thank Him when things are going well.

To ignore His commands and forget to obey Him.

Lord, help me to serve you and hold fast to you every minute of each day.

You Will Shine Like Stars in the Sky

Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. — Philippians 2:15-16

When we don't grumble or argue, we shine like stars in the sky.

God calls us to hold firmly to His Word, the word of life.

And when we do that, we will be able to boast on the last day.

The day of Christ is coming soon.

We do not want to run or labor in vain.

Rather, we want to follow Christ and honor Him in everything we do.

You Are Really My Disciples

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” — John 8:31-32 

When we believe in Him, Jesus calls us His disciples.

And He commands us to keep His teaching.

Not an easy thing to do.

But reading Scriptures and holding to His teaching, helps us to know the truth.

And the truth of Christ is what sets us free.

Free from the chains of darkness and death.

You Must Follow God

It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. — Deuteronomy 13:4 

God calls us to obey Him.

And to follow Him in all we do.

We must love and revere and honor Him.

He commands us to obey him.

To serve Him.

To keep His commands.

To hold fast to Him.

To call Him our Lord.

You Are Really My Disciples

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. - John 8:31

Jesus says that if we hold to His teachings, we are His disciples.

It's not always easy to keep to His teachings. 

The temptations of this world are continual distractions.

As His disciples, we follow His teaching.

And we look to His Word for guidance.

 

Here's Mary Magdalen Church in Camarillo, where Kirk grew up.

Still an active congregation worshipping God each week.

Joy in God's House of Prayer

All who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. — Isaiah 56:6-7

Yesterday we worshiped at the service in our church courtyard

Today I went for swim at the Y.

Our church held a jazz service down at Waterfront Park. 

Then Kirk and I went for a 2-mile walk around the neighborhood.

A beautiful day!

Praise the Lord. 

I Press On

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 3:13-14

God has called me to glorify Him.

I am not there yet, but I strain toward His goal for me.

Then I take a few steps back.

I mess up.

Even so, I press on toward the goal.

After all, God has called me heavenward.

And He has sent His Son Jesus to take my hand and lead me there.

Today I pray for those who are struggling with cancer and other illnesses.

Lord, please wrap your loving arms around them and give them your deep peace. Amen.

Jesus Took Hold of Me

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. — Philippians 3:12

Christ Jesus took hold of me and turned me around to start heading in the right direction.

I have in no way arrived at my goal yet.

But I press on.

I take hold of that for which Jesus took hold of me.

I am grateful that He holds me.

And that He gave His life for me.

 

Shine Like Stars

Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. — Philippians 2:16

Paul tells the Philippians that through Christ they will shine like stars.

God can shine through us, too.

Shine among them like stars in the sky.

We hold firmly to God's Word, the Word of Life.

On the Day of Christ, we will be able to boast in the Lord.

What an exciting day that will be.

Spur Each Other On

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. — Hebrews 10:23-24

It is not always easy to think of others first.

But when we hold on to the hope we have in Jesus, He is faithful.

He helps us spur each other on toward love.

The Holy Spirit helps us consider how we can do good deeds for each other.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.

God Will Hold My Hand

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. — Isaiah 41:12

God takes hold of my hand.

He leads me in the path I should go.

I do not need to be afraid.

God will help me.

He is the Lord my God.

Kirk took this picture of our courtyard last week.

The blooming plants and trees remind me of God's love.

I enjoy sitting outside with a good book and a cup of coffee.

Or joining Abby and Kirk for a meal together.

We are thankful.

God Will Help Us

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. — Isaiah 41:13

It's the start of a very short week, and it's Tuesday!

We were blessed to have a three-day weekend to help Abby recover from her illness.

And to give us a chance to sell some furniture and clear out our garage.

We can now fit both of our cars in the garage again.

We sold this bed and headboard along with the matching dressers so we could transform this room from a bedroom.

And we now have a nice study (or we will once I unpack my boxes of curriculum and art supplies).

Our house is feeling like a home again.

We are thankful.