The Authorities Are God's Servants

This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. — Romans 13:6-7 

The authorities are God's servants.

God has placed them in a position of authority.

They give their full time to governing, or they should.

God asks us to give to everyone whatever I owe them.

It humbles me to know that He calls me to pay my taxes.

And to pay those who work for me and my company.

But more than that, God commands me to give others respect.

Even if I don't agree with them.

To give them honor.

To treat others as children of God.

Our neighbor is recovering from knee surgery.

It's not going as well as her first one did six years ago.

This week she went in for a tough physical therapy session.

So we sent her a fruit bouquet to encourage and support her.

It was her first one, and she said it was delicious!

God Has Saved Us

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, — 2 Timothy 1:9 

Tomorrow we'll have a chance to visit Megan's new baby, Daphne.

Her grandpa has been visiting from Ohio to help take care of her.

God has saved us and called us to a holy life.

Not because of anything we have done.

But only because of His own purpose and grace.

This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus.

Before the beginning of time.

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.

There Is One God and One Mediator

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. — 1 Timothy 2:5-6 

God is the one and only.

Our Father and Redeemer.

Christ Jesus His Son is our mediator.

Jesus is the only mediator between us humans and God.

And Jesus gave himself as our ransom.

He paid the price of my sin.

And the sin of all people.

Others bear witness to this great sacrifice.

And through Him, I am blessed and redeemed.

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!

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 

When God's time had fully come, God sent His Son, Jesus.

He was born of Mary.

And born under the la

Born to redeem those under the law.

Jesus was born that we might receive adoption into His family.

He is the light in our darkness.

Sent by God to redeem us from our sins.

Christ Died for the Ungodly

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. — Romans 5:6

Christ died for all of us.

Before we knew Him, God knew us personally.

He calls us by name.

Christ died for me while I was still a sinner.

And I am grateful.

Last night we went to  a Chris Botti concert with friends.

Chris used to play trumpet with Sting.

Now he does tours with his own musicians.

One of the things I appreciate about him is his professionalism in working with other musicians, letting them take center stage.

He also told the security guard not to worry about asking people to put away their phones.

It was OK for them/us to record songs and take photos during the concert.

Very fun evening.

Worship the Father in Truth

A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. — John 4:23 

On Sunday, we had a fun bluegrass music service of worship at our church.

Afterward, we had a mini-concert in our courtyard with banjo, guitar, mandolin, cajon, and harmonium.

The children were dancing around the courtyard — and so were some of the adults!

This is just a photo, not a link.

But the livestream version of the service is available at https://www.fpcsd.org

The true worshipers will worship God the Father in Spirit.

We worship Him in truth.

This is the kind of worship God requires of us.

Called to a Holy Life

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. — 2 Timothy 1:9

God has saved us.

He has called us to a holy life.

We cannot achieve that by our own power.

But only by his own purpose, because of His grace.

His grace was given to us in His Son, Jesus, before the beginning of time.

We are blessed.

And thankful to God that He provides work for us to do.

Wishing you a happy Labor Day!

Voice of the Son of God

Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. — John 5:25

Today we celebrated the life of Kathie Jones.

She was a wife, mother, grandmother, friend, sister and daughter.

It was a beautiful tribute to her life and her love of Jesus.

We saw lots of people who we had not seen in a year or more.

It felt like a reunion as well as a memorial service.

What a huge blessing.

Praise the Lord!

Those Who Hear Will Live

Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. — John 5:25

Tomorrow Kirk and I both go in to get our covid vaccines.

Finally!

Kirk goes to Albertsons and I go to UCSD.

Hopefully we will not have the symptoms Abby had — fever, chills, and nausea.

Easter reminds us that the Son of God has overcome death.

When we put our faith in Jesus, we hear His voice.

The time has come when the dead will hear His voice and will live.

God Has Saved Us

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. — 2 Timothy 1:9

God has saved us.

He calls us to a holy life.

Not because of anything we have done.

But only because of God's own purpose and grace.

Jesus gave us this grace through His death on the cross.

He was with God and was God before the beginning of time.

God has had mercy on us.

We are thankful.

He Was Named Jesus

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. — Luke 2:21

The baby was named Jesus, and He is our Savior.

The angel gave Him this name long before He was born.

He lived and died and came alive again to save me from sin.

And He lives in heaven, sitting at the right hand of God the Father.

On this New Year's Eve, we thank Him for coming to earth as a baby and dying for us. 

Welcome, 2021!

I Pray With Joy

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. — Philippians 1:3-5

I thank God every day for my friends and family.

In all my prayers for you, I pray with joy.

I am thankful for our friendship.

And for my Christian friends who partner with me in helping me follow God's Word.

I thank God for those who mentor me and my family.

Who direct us in the ways God calls us to go.

Here we are with friend ringing in the new year of 2020 at Yani's.

We are blessed.

 

The Hope of Eternal Life

In the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior. — Titus 2-3

God promised us before the beginning of creation that we have the hope of eternal life.

People may not always be able to keep their promises.

But God always keeps His promises. He does not lie.

He has brought to light the hope of eternal life in Christ Jesus.

We worshiped online today, sheltering at home with our family.

It was hot and sunny, but I got out for a walk with a friend at 7:30, before it got too warm.

We saw a small bunny running our way up the sidewalk.

He had no fear.

We can have no fear knowing that God is with us.

God Give Us Our Food

All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. — Psalm 104:27-28

We look to God to provide our food.

All creattures look to Him to provide what they need.

He knows just what we need each moment of the day.

God has opened His hand to us, and has given us over and above what we need.

He has made sure we are satisfied with the good thing he provides.

This weekend I made bread, pizza dough,vegetable stock, and lasagna to take to our friend whose husband just came home from the hospital. 

God has blessed us.

We are grateful for His good and perfect care.

One God and Mediator

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. — 1 Timothy 2:5-6

Our church is posting a devotion each day during the season of Lent.

They are written by our church elders, deacons, staff, and leaders.

What a wonderfully inspired and creative assortment of writings we are getting.

I look forward to opening my email each day, just to read them.

I am so thankful that God is our Mediator.

He mediates for me through His Son, Jesus.

And He gave himself up for me, a sinner, before I ever knew him.

That's overwhelming.

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.
 

Time for a Baby

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. — Luke 2:6

Today we celebrated Christmas during our worship service.

We also celebrated communion.

Tuesday we'll worship once again on Christmas Eve.

And next Sunday we'll sing lots of Chrsitmas carols.

We are thankful for the birth of Jesus and for His death and resurrection to save us from our sins.