The Spirit of God Gives Us Power

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. — 2 Timothy 1:7

Since Christ died for us, He now sits at the right hand of God the Father.

And He fills us with His Spirit, to be our Counselor and guide.

The Spirit of God does not make us timid or uncertain.

Rather He gives us power to live for Him and share the Gospel.

The Spirit fills us with the love of Christ so we can radiate it in our lives.

And He gives us self-discipline to follow Jesus and obey Him.

We can't do it on our own.

Thankfully, the Spirit of God lives in us.

And He surrounds us with other Christian who help us on our journey.

God Showed His Love Among Us

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. — 1 John 4:9

Here's some delicious ahi Kirk marinated last week.

And he made some Manhattans to go with it - with extra special maraschino cherries.

Yum!

God also provides us with good things.

He showed His love among us by sending us His Son.

His one and only Son, Jesus.

Sent into our world, taking on human form.

So that we might live through Him.

Perfect Love Drives Out Fear

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. — 1 John 4:8 

God is love.

There is no fear in God or in love.

Perfect love drives out fear.

The person who fears is not made perfect in love.

Fear has to do with punishment rather than love.

God is love.

We love because God first loved us.

Plans to Prosper You

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. — Jeremiah 29:11-13

God has wonderful plans for our lives.

Plans to prosper us.

Not to harm us.

Plans to give us hope and a future.

So we will call on God and pray to Him and He will listen.

We will seek Jesus and find Him when we seek Him out with all our hearts.

So thankful that we have found Jesus.

 

Those Who Plan What Is Good Find Love

Those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness. — Proverbs 14:22 

Today I went into work to find these gorgeous flowers on my desk.

Courtesy of a coworker I had offered to help.

What a thoughtful way to say "thank you."

As she put it, Leaving a little happiness on your desk!

What a blessing.

Kirk and I are enjoying them at home this weekend.

No Servant Is Greater Than His Master

Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.  — John 13:16-17 

Today we celebrated Lent with 17 other congregations at our church.

It was a wonderful service of praise and worship.

And ended with contemplation and darkness.

We left in silence, reading Scriptures written below artwork depicting the stations of the cross.

Very moving and humbling.

Love Does No Harm

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. — Romans 13:9-10 

God gave us ten commandments to help us follow His law.

But we cannot keep them without His help and guidance.

All these commandments can be summed up in one command.

To love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

That means I do no harm to my neighbor.

And this type of love fulfills God's law.

Here are some of my coworkers gathered around our Valentine's Day tree.

God Guards the Lives of His Faithful Ones

Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. — Psalm 97:10 

God guards our lives.

He delivers us from the hand of wicked ones.

And from evil that surrounds us.

We love Him and hate evil.

He watches over us and cares for us.

No One Has Ever Seen God

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. — 1 John 4:11-12 

Today we have a holiday from work for Presidents' Day.

Since God loved us, we also should love each other.

No one has ever seen God.

But God lives in us through His Son, Jesus.

And His love lives in us.

When we love one another, God's love is made complete in us.

Nothing Will Separate Us From the Love of God in Jesus

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. — Romans 8:38-39 

God has promised that nothing will ever separate us from His love.

What a wonderful and reassuring promise.

Neither life or death.

Not angels or demons.

Not the present or the future.

Neither height no depth.

Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from God's love in Christ Jesus.

After all, He is our Lord and Savior.

Love One Another As I Have Loved You

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” — John 13:34-35 

God gives us a new command.

To love one another.

And to do it in the same way that He shows love to me.

Impossible, right?

It would be, if not for the amazing God we serve.

My coworker decorated this Valentine's tree for our office.

A perfect depiction of this verse.

Love one another.

This is how we show that we are disciples of Jesus.

In the ways we show His love to others.

We Should Love One Another

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. — 1 John 3:11

God has sent us His Word.

And we have known it from the beginning.

He has written it in our hearts.

But we still manage to ignore it.

God commands us to love each other.

Even those who appear to be unloveable.

Help me, Lord, to love others.

My friend Lainie created this garden installation in her yard for Valentine's Day.

Too cute!

This Is Love

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. — 1 John 4:10

God loved us and sent His Son Jesus to us.

Jesus died for our sins so that we can live with Him forever.

This Valentine's week, it's comforting to know that God's love for us is greater than life.

He loved us before we ever knew Him.

And He loves me still, in spite of my sin.

These red tulips remind me of His deep love.

A thoughtful Valentine's gift from our daughter.

Love Is Patient

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. — 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 

Marina Village San Diego

Love is patient and kind.

We watched the Super Bowl yesterday as a family.

And we celebrated our time together.

Abby brought us beautiful tulips.

Here we are at the wedding the day before.

The wind was really chilly.

But we had a great time even so.

We met lots of fun people.

And caught up with others we hadn't seen in years.

Love does not dishonor others. 

It keeps no record of wrongs.

Happy Birthday!

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. — I Corinthians 13:6-7

Yesterday we went to a wedding, and this was one of the Scriptures read during the service.

We had such a fun time with friends old and new.

Here's Kirk holding baby Joseph, who's just as content as can be.

Today we celebrate Kirk's birthday.

An amazing father, husband, friend, brother and son.

Wishing him the best day ever!

Kirk's love, similar to God our Father's, always protect, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

It rejoices with the truth.

My Father Is the Gardener

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will produce more fruit." — John 5:1

Jesus is the true vine.

God is the gardener in the garden of our lives.

When I'm connected with Jesus, He nourishes me and helps me grow in Him.

God prunes me to help me produce fruit for Him.

That can be a painful process but one that lets me grow to my fullest.

We Thank God for You

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. — 2 Thessalonians 1:3 

I thank God for those around me who follow Him.

For the. mentors who have helped me stay on the right path.

And have guided me through life.

Their faith grew more and more.

And their love for Kirk and me continually increases.

I always thank God for their guidance and love.

The saints who have gone before me are rich with God's love.

Love Your Neighbor

“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 5:43-45 

Today we heard from our niece Victoria who's been vacationing in the Maldives.

She and Max are now engaged!

And they're planning a wedding for next year in Vienna.

We are thrilled for them.

And we're looking forward to seeing my sister and her family.

It's been 11 years since we've seen them all.

We can hardly wait.

Such exciting news.

Whoever Pursues Righteousness

Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. — Proverbs 21:21

Here's our hiking group.

We were relaxing at the waterfall after our 3.5-mile hike.

We prayed together and thanked God for the beautiful day.

Then we headed back up the trail.

And waded through the streams.

And checked in with the rangers at the trailhead.

 Thanking God for a fun day!

The Word of the Lord Is Right and True

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. — Psalm 22:4-5 

God's Word is right and true.

He is faithful in all He does.

The Lord loves righteousness.

God love justice.

The earth is full of His unfailing love.

I Love You, Lord, My Strength

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  — Psalm 18:1-2 

Yesterday we hiked out to Cedar Creek Waterfall in Ramona.

What a beautiful day.

The waterfall was much fuller than it was two years ago when we hiked there in April.

And we waded across three streams.

But when we arrived, we were there with just a few other people.

Hiking out we ran into a large group of college students hiking in.

Thankfully we went early and had the waterfall almost to ourselves.

What a beautiful day!

The Things God Has Prepared

However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him. — 1 Corinthians 2:9

God has prepared great things for us.

What no eye has seen.

What no ear has heard.

And what no human mind has conceived.

The things God has prepared for us.

And for those who love Him.

We are blessed.

I Will Sing of Your Strength

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. — Psalm 59:16

Monday I took dinner to my coworker whose wife just had a baby.

And I made a chicken pot pie for our family, too.

Yum!

 I will sing of God's strength.

In the morning I will sing of His love.

God is my fortress.

He is my refuge in times of trouble.

Abounding in Love

You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. — Psalm 86:5 

God is forgiving.

He is good to all.

And the Lord is abounding in love.

He loves all who call to Him.

What a wonderful reminder.

I've been doing Wordle for the past few weeks.

Today the word was cross.

What a perfect reminder as we head into Lent of the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

All because of a loving God who cares for us.

Happy February!