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.

God Sent His Son, Born of a Woman

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. — Galatians 4:4-5

God sent His Son, Jesus to be born as a Baby.

The timing was according to His plan — when the time had fully come.

Jesus was born of the virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate.

And was crucified, dead and buried to redeem us from our sin.

The third day He rose again from the grave.

Redeeming those of us under the law.

That we might be adopted as sons and daughters of the Lord God.

You Need to Persevere

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. — Hebrews 10:35-36 

God commands us to remain confident.

And to persevere in doing the will of God.

When we hesitate, He pushes us along.

Holding us up when we lose heart.

Providing the strength we need to persevere.

He is our Rock!

Children of God

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. — John 1:12-13 

Today is the final day of July 2023.

Hard to believe that another year is more than half over!

Just as hard to believe that God calls us his children.

To all who believe in His name, we are born of God!

He is risen indeed!

Praise Be To God the Father of Compassion

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 

Lots of our acquaintances have lost loved ones over the past month.

One of Kirk's former colleagues at Emerald Middle School passed away unexpectedly at 52.

Kirk attended his service on Saturday.

Don was still teaching just days before he died.

The Sunday before, one of our older church members passed away unexpectedly.

His widow was at church this past Sunday, worshipping and praising God.

As people who have lost loved ones, we are able to comfort those around us who are grieving.

And to celebrate the lives of those who have left us but who now live with Jesus.

Praise be to God the Father of Jesus.

He is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.

The Lord comforts us in our troubles.

He gives us the opportunity to comfort others who are grieving or troubled.

We comfort them with the same comfort we've received from God.

Wonderful.

The Voice of Angels

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” — Revelation 5:12

The voice of many angels worship God night and day.

In one voice they say, Worthy is the Lamb!

Jesus was slain to receive power, wealth, wisdom and strength.

To Him be honor and glory and praise.

He alone is worthy of our adoration.

God Sent His Son

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. — Galatians 4:4-5

At just the right time, God sent Jesus into the world.

And we celebrate the coming of our Savior.

Born of a woman, born of the Holy Spirit.

To purchase our salvation.

He adopted us into His family.

So when we believe in Him, He can draw us into His grace.

And forgive us from all the ways we continue to miss the mark.

Hallelujah!

The Father of Compassion

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

Today I introduced my new friend Michaela to my friend Robin over lunch.

Michaela is planning to have a mastectomy with reconstruction in April.

Robin had one 16 years ago.

We had a chance to share our experiences.

We'll go for a hike around the neighborhood or down to Mission Trails on Saturday.

To continue the conversation and support her as she goes through this tough time.

We both had strong support networks during our surgeries and recovery.

Hopefully we can help provide that same support for our new friend.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus.

He is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble.

We comfort others with the comfort we've received from God.

God Comforts Us

God 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 1:4

Today we heard that our former neighbor passed away last week.

He and his wife had celebrated 67 years of marriage.

And Ralph had just turned 90.

We were blessed to know him and to have him and Wanda as our neighbors. 

We miss them.

God comforts us in all our troubles.

He does that so that we in turn can comfort others.

He gives us His strength so that we can pass it on to others.

Children of God

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. — John 1:12-13

Lake Poway

To everyone who received Jesus, he gave the right to become children of God. 

To those of us who believe in Jesus, He adopted us into His family.

We are His children, born of God.

Children who were not born from human decision.

But who were shown mercy by the grace of God.

We are chosen.

We are blessed.

We are kept by God.

Salvation Through Jesus

God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. — 1 Thessalonians 5:9

Today we received these beautiful flowers from our friends.

What a wonderful surprise!

Ben and Susan sent them to thank us for hosting the weekly fellowship group at our house.

Their son Matt stopped by to deliver them.

Now they are gracing our table.

God did not appoint us to suffer wrath.

Rather, God appointed us to receive salvation through Jesus.

Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.

 

Glory and Praise

Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise. — Revelation 5:12

Palm Desert Sunset

We just returned from a week in Palm Desert, relaxing by the pool and eating way too much delicious food.

Kirk got to play lots of golf.


And we enjoyed card games and other games with our friends.

Kaiser called Thursday to let me know that the CT scan came back negative.

They will do another one in six months, just to make sure I'm still doing fine.

I have been covered in prayers.

God is good, and he continues to bless me.

To Him be all glory and praise.

Retiring from 30 Years of Teaching

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. — Hebrews 11:8

Today Kirk's friends and colleagues drove by to celebrate his 30 years of teaching and his retirement.

What a fun evening.

Kyle called from Virginia to keep him occupied until his friends started coming by.

I asked him to change out of his Crest Wiffle Ball shirt with holes in it - that made him a bit suspicious.

Even so, he had no idea about what was in store.

Friends and family drove down our street with signs and banners, celebrating our guy.

A few more neighbors and friends stopped by afterward to congratulate him.

We sat by the fire in our courtyard and shared stories and laughs of some of the adventures he had.

Thanks to his friends Walley Yeakle an Julie Ursini-Davis for arranging this wonderful event.

He got to see people and colleagues that he hadn't seen in years.

When the coronavirus has finally been eradicated we will have a party in our backyard to celebrate.

In the meantime, this was a great way to begin his retirement years.

Promised Inheritance

Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. — Hebrews 9:15

When Kirk's dad died last year, we received an inheritance.

The sale of his house was finalized in October.

However, the money from the sale is still tied up in probate, and the court has moved the hearing date from May to July (originally it was scheduled for last year).

So we continue to be patient that that will be resolved at some point and the proceeds from that sale can be distributed to the three brothers.

Jesus gives us a promised eternal inheritance much greater than anything we can imagine here on earth.

His death provides a ransom to set us free from the sins we commit.

He is now seated on the right hand of God the Father and acts as our mediator between God and us.

We wait patiently for the time when we will see Him face to face and live with Him.

Grace to Help Us

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. — Hebrews 4:16

This week my brother will have to make the hard decision to put down his dog.

What a sad time after having him for five years as companion and friend.

But the cancer racing in his body is just getting worse, and he is failing quickly.

So the best thing for him is to put him out of his misery, even though that's really hard for us to do.

God gives us His grace to help us through these hard times.

He carries us through our time of need when it seems nothing is going our way.

He comforts us when we are sad and grieving.

I am praying for my brother this week as he says goodbye and then grieves for his dear great dane.
 

God Sent His Son

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. — Galatians 4:4-5

My brothers are adopted.

They came to our house right after they were born, and my sister and I had the pleasure of babysitting them, feeding them, changing them, etc.

Now they are grown men, still part of our family.

Here's Tim with his jag.

God has adopted me into His family.

Jesus was born and died to redeem me.

The law convicts me of my sin, and Jesus paid the price for my sin by dying on the cross.

He came alive again and now sits at the right hand of God the Father.

He redeems me - one under the law so I can be adopted into His family.

The Father of Compassion

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

Friday in our Bible study we once again studied God's Word and Paul's writings about our God of compassion and comfort.

God comforts me in my troubles so I can be equipped to comfort others as they go through troubled times. 

I can't comfort other people on my own, but God can give me His comfort to pass on to others.

How cool is that! 

One of my friends prepared dinner for us and another volunteered to bring a meal next weekend.

They are able to comfort and support me because of the ways God has supported and comforted them when they needed comfort.

God provides for us, just when we need it most, before we even ask.

 

Children of God

To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. — John 1:12

As a child of God, I am loved and cared for by God himself.

He guided us to a long weekend of rest and relaxation.

He has guided us through my cancer and chemo treatments.

He has given us a chance to get away before Kirk starts school again and before Abby begins her master's program.

God has blessed us with time together as a family.