She Will Give Birth to a Son

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” — Matthew. 1:20-21 

An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream.

Telling him to take Mary as his wife.

And promising that she would give birth to son, born of the Holy Spirit.

The baby's name would be Jesus.

Because He will save His poeple from their sins.

And we are grateful.

We owe Him our lives.

Sound Teaching

What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. — 2 Timothy 1:13-14

Saturday we went to the Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham concert at SDSU.

It was more a worship service than a concert.

And it was fun to attend as a family.

Singing praise songs together and praising God.

And watching hundreds of people sign up to sponsor a child with Compassion International after hearing the testimony of a mom who was sponsored by Compassion when she lived in the Philippines.

A wonderful time a worship.

Thanks be to God!

Our Father in Heaven Gives the Holy Spirit

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! — Luke 11:13 

God blesses us with good gifts.

He showers blessings on us from above.

Even though we are undeserving.

And during times when we ignore Him completely.

He gives us the Holy Spirit.

And He answers our prayers when we ask Him.

We are blessed!

May God Fill You With Peace

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. — Romans 15:13 

As we begin Memorial Day, we thank God for those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

For the hope they give us.

May the God of hope fill us with all joy.

And may He fill us with unexplainable peace.

So that we may overflow with hope as we trust in Jesus.

Christ gives us this hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Yesterday we celebrated Pentecost, when God sent the Holy Spirit to the disciples.

May the Holy Spirit fill us with joy and guide and direct us as our Counselor.

The Pattern of Sound Teaching

What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. — 1 Timothy 1:13-14 

Today is Labor Day, so I have the day off.

A welcome rest from the work week.

Yesterday, our pastor gave an inspiring sermon from 2 Thessalonians 2.

And our Sunday school teacher encouraged us to share the gospel with others by getting to know them personally.

A rich day of teaching from God's Word.

God asks me to keep His Word as the pattern of sound teaching.

To hold fast to the faith and love of Christ Jesus.

To guard the good deposit that was entrusted to me.

To guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in me.

Help me, Lord.

Filled With Joy and Peace

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. — Romans 15:13

Today God has filled us with joy.

And with a peace that passes understanding.

As we trust Him, we feel joy unending.

And we in turn overflow with hope.

The Holy Spirit blesses us with His power.

And we are filled with joy.

 

Heaven Was Opened

 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” — Luke 3:21-22

When Jesus was baptized, He prayed.

While He prayed, heaven was opened.

The Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove.

A voice came from God in heaven

Saying, You are my Son.

I love you and am well pleased.

We have opportunities each day to show our love for Jesus.

He Will Baptize You with the Holy Spirit

The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. — Luke 3:15-17

The people were wondering if John might be the Messiah, but he was not.

John was sent to prepare the way for Jesus.

He came to baptize us with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Sunday we celebrate our baptism and renew our commitment to Jesus.

Our worship service will focus on God's faithfulness to us.

We will thank Him for the blessings He gives us.

And we will pray for our country

And for those of our friends and family who are recovering from covid.

We know God is holding them in His hands and healing them.

Righteous and Devout

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.  It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. — Luke 2:25-26

Simeon believed the Lord.

He watched and waited for years to see Jesus.

He was righteous and devout.

I wish I could say the same.

He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.

The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would get to see the Lord's Messiah before he died.

God Appeared to Joseph

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. — Matthew 1:20

And angel appeared to Joseph.

What a strange dream.

The first thing the angel says is that Joseph should not be afraid.

Then Joseph is told to take Mary as his wife, even though she is already expecting.

What a leap of faith!

Yet he obeys God without question.

Dear Lord, help me to obey without question, too.

Overflow with Hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. — Romans 15:13

God gives hope to a world lost and dying.

He fills us with joy in His Son, Jesus.

The Lord brings us peace through Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

When I trust in Him, He fills me with joy and peace.

So I can overflow with hope.

And with the power of the Holy Spirit.

This Advent season, we look forward to the Lord's coming.

To the birth of our Lord Jesus.

Imitators of the Lord

You became imitators of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. — 1 Thessalonians 1:6

Some of our missionary friends have known suffering.

We are blessed that we have not. 

Even in the midst of suffering, these friends live out the Gospel with joy.

They live out joy given by the Holy Spirit.

They are imitators of the Lord.

 

God Has Chosen You

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.  — 1 Thessalonians 1:4

Thursday we celebrated Liz's birthday.

Today we celebrate Dave's and Susan's.

They came over Wednesday night so we celebrated with brownies and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Friday was Alex's last day with our company as she moves on to a start-up.

Lots of transitions this week.

God has chosen each person.

The Gospel came to Liz, Susan, and Dave not simply with words, but also wtih power.

The Holy Spirit is working within each of them.

Thank you, Lord.

Each One Is Part of the Body of Christ

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. — 1 Corinthians 12:27

We are each part of the body of Christ.

He has baptized us into His family and has filled us with the Holy Spirit.

On Friday we will celebrate the life of Tina Thompson.

She was part of our church family and served as pastor and in other roles at several churches.

She served at Ladle Fellowship and on the session of our church over the years.

Her smile was infectious.

Here is a photo of our street choir, some of whom are also Ladle guests.

We are each part of the body of Christ.

 

 

God's Grace Be With You

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. — 2 Corinthians 13:15

Saturday's date was 9-21-19, the same as our local zip code!

Our nearby post office had cake and banners in celebration.

Apparently this happens just once every century, so it was quite the event.

God Is With Us to the End of the Age

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” — Matthew 28:18-20

The great thing is that God has been with me every day of my entire life.

Even when I don't feel him near me, He is there.

He knows my prayers and thoughts before I even think them.

During this past year of cancer diagnosis and treatment, He was and is still with me.

He gave me, Kirk, and Abby the strength to get through this time and come out even stronger.

I am amazed!

As we grieved over the loss of Kirk's dad, God surrounded us with His love.

In the loss of our friends' dads, God comforted us in knowing that they are now with Him.

We can sing God's praises, knowing that Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us as we grieve.

Jesus is with us always. Wow!

Filled with Joy and Peace

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. — Romans 15:13

Our friend Dave Jones lost his dad, Bud, a few days ago. And our church friend Glen Doughty passed away this week after a lengthy hospice season.

It's sad to lose family members, parents, and friends. At the same time, we have a deep peace knowing that they are now living in heaven with Jesus. 

They each trusted in him and we overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We are thankful for the times we shared together with each of them.

At the same time, we grieve with their family members. We've experienced first-hand how hard it is to say goodbye to our parents. They will be missed.

And we

In God's House

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” — Psalm 122:1
 

First Presbyterian Church San Diego

As a young child, my mom used to sing this verse to me, "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord." The song was a simple melody written for preschoolers and kindergarten children, and I can still hum the tune.

It does make me glad to worship God at church each week, to stand and sing His praises and to listen to His Word. The Scriptures are alive and active and speak to me in a different way each time I hear them.

The words don't seem to change, but the Holy Spirit works in me and the message is usually just what I need to hear.

Yesterday my brother Steve joined us at church. What a huge surprise and and a blessing to worship next to him once again! Over the past year he has been working overtime six days a week, and it was great to have him back with us, singing together in the house of the Lord.

I rejoiced!