You Will Come and Pray

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. — Jeremiah 29:11-12

God knows the plans He has for us.

And His plans are better than mine.

They include giving hope and a future.

When I call on Him and come and pray to Him, He listens to me.

And He knows my requests before I even voice them.

Even though I often put myself first instead of God, God puts me first every day.

You, Lord, Are Abounding in Love

You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. — Psalm 85:6 

Today is the final day of January.

A new month is ahead.

It seems like we just entered 2024 and now one month is over.

How comforting to know that God is forgiving.

When I mess up, He forgives me when I come to Him in repentance.

The Lord is good.

He abounds in love.

And He's not selective. 

His love is for all who call to Him.

Thank You, Lord.

Seek the Lord

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. — Isaiah 55:6 

God calls us to seek Him out.

To get into His Word.

To listen for direction from His Holy Spirit.

And to call on Him while He is near to us.

last night we joined friends for dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Antica Trattoria.

I Love the Lord

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. — Psalm 116:1-2 

I love the Lord with all my heart.

He hears my voice each time I call to Him in prayer.

God heard my cry when I begged for mercy.

He turned His ear to me.

And He answered me in love and mercy.

I will call on Him as long as I live.

Call to Me and I Will Answer

This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. — Jeremiah 33:2-3 

God our creator made the earth and everything in it.

He formed it out of nothing.

The Lord established it.

He created this beautiful sunset we marveled at earlier this week in Palm Desert.

He created me.

Yaweh is His name.

And He says we can call to Him.

In fact, He commands us to call out to Him.

And He promises to answer.

Even more, He will tell us great and unsearchable things we do not know.

Amazing!

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.

 

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!

Seek the Lord

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. — Isaiah 55:6 

God calls us to seek Him out while He may be found.

Call upon Him while He is near.

He is a great God,

High above the heavens.

His faithfulness reaches to the highest heavens.

Today Kirk planted this plumeria in a corner near our geraniums.

We are hoping it will continue to grow and thrive.

He Turned His Ear to Me

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. — Psalm 116:1-2

On our recent trip to France, we had the wonderful opportunity to visit lots of beautiful cathedrals.

God's majesty and glory was evident in the architecture, the music, and the sculptures.

I love the Lord.

He heard my voice.

God heard my cry for mercy.

He turned His ear to me.

And He answered my cry.

I will call on Him as long as I live.

Pray to God

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. — Jeremiah 29:12 

When we call on God and pray to Him, He will answer.

He listens to us when we talk to Him.

God knows our thoughts before we even speak them out loud.

He may not answer in the way we expected, but He knows what's best for us.

This is the wedding we attended with friends in April.

A perfect night for a wedding and a reception and dancing under the stars.

The Whole Earth Is Filled with Awe

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. — Psalm 65:8 

Yesterday was Palm Sunday.

The children in our congregation waved palm branches as they came down the center aisle.

Next year, these palms will provide the ashes we'll use for Ash Wednesday.

Yesterday we sang Hosannas.

By Friday, we'll be shouting "crucify Him"!

What a fickle bunch we are.

Yet God calls forth songs of joy.

The whole earth is filled with awe at God's wonders.

I Have Hope

This I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. — Lamentations 3:21-22

Because of the Lord's great love for me, I am not consumed.

The compassions of the Lord never fail.

Therefore I have hope.

My hope is in the Lord.

And His Son, Jesus.

The Mighty One Has Done Great Things for Me

From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. — Luke 1:49

Today we told the story of the candycane to our middle school girls.

How a candymaker wanted to tell the story of Jesus's birth so made candy shaped like a shepherd's crook to tell the Christmas story.

This photo is by  Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash.

The candy cane when held upside down looks like a J for Jesus.

The white reminds us of purity.

The red reminds us of Jesus' blood shed for us.

The three narrow stripes tell us that Jesus is part of the Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

And when we share it with others, we are reminded to share the Gospel of Jesus with all we meet.

Merry Christmas!

Call Him Immanuel

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. — Isaiah 7:14

God himself will give us a sign.

Mary will conceive and give birth to a son.

We will call Him Immanuel.

Which means, God is with us.

Jesus, Messiah, anointed one.

Live a Holy Life

 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. — 1 Thessalonians 4:7

God calls us to live a pure life.

He did not call us to be impure.

But our human nature drags us toward impurity.

Which is just one more reason why we need to immerse ourselves in God's Word.

And in a life of prayer.

And a life connected with the Holy Spirit.

God calls us to live a holy life.

The Lord Will Answer

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. — Isaiah 58:9

When I call, God will answer.

The Lord is near.

When I cry for help, God will hear me.

And He will respond, "Here am I."

When I'm not sure what to do, God will lead me.

He has a plan for my life.

He guides and directs my path.

He knows what's best for me.

 

The Lord Will Answer

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. — Isaiah 58:9

When I call to Him, God answers me.

The Lord answers my prayer when I stay in close touch with Him.

When I cried for help, He heard me.

And He gave me His strong arm to carry me through my sickness and troubles.

He uses my times of discouragement to remind me that He is sovreign.

And to support me in my weakness and doubt.

He says to me, "Here I am."

And I am comforted. 

A few weeks ago, I reconnected with my former boss.

We had lunch in La Jolla at Barbarello's with my friend and former coworker.

A fun day of rekindling our friendships.

Call on the Lord

 Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. — Isaiah 55:6

God asks us to seek Him.

To look for Him in His Word and in His creation.

He commands us to pray to Him.

To call on Him day and night.

And to pray without ceasing.

God Has Done Great Things

From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. — Luke 1:49

God did great things for Mary.

He blessed her with her son Jesus.

And Jesus was sent to be the Savior of the world.

God has done great things for me, too.

He loves me more than I can fathom.

And He healed me from cancer.

He has blessed me with a wonderful husband in Kirk.

And a thoughtful daughter with Abby.

A Thank Offering

I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. — Psalm 116:17

 

Tonight we celebrate thanksgiving with a service at church. 

We will sing hymns, pray, and share our thanks to God.

We will give our offerings of money, time, and talents.

Giving thanks to God for His abundant greatness.

Kirk and I will lead the Psalm readings along with our friend Sheri.

We will worship God in the beauty of His holiness.

Gathering together in our church courtyard outside.

Calling on the name of the Lord.

Praising God for His goodness and love.

And for His sacrifice for each of us.

Calling on the name of the Lord.