I Will Come Back and Take You With Me

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." — John 14:3  

Jesus died and came alive again.

He then left to sit at the right. hand of God the Father in heaven.

Now He reigns there today.

And He prepares a place for us.

But He also promises to return.

And to take us to be with Him in heaven one day.

What a glorious promise.

Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?" — John 14:1-2 

Sunrise Over Baker Golf Course

God commands us not to worry.

And not to trouble ourselves with the cares of this world.

That's easier said than done. 

God's house has enough room for each of us.

And Jesus has gone before to prepare a place for us there.

Praise the Lord!

There Will Be No More Death

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” — Revelation 21:2-4 

What a beautiful picture of heaven.

No more death or mourning.

No more crying or pain.

The old order of things will have passed away.

And God's Holy city will be the new Jerusalem.

God's dwelling place will be among the people.

God will be with us and will be our God.

He will wipe every tear from our. eyes.

What a wonderful, loving Father!

Jesus WIll Come Back

Jesus said, “I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” — John 13:3 

Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father.

He rose again from the dead and said He was going to prepare a place for us.

One day, He tells us He will come back and take us with Him.

So that on that day we can live with Him in heaven.

What a wonderful promise!

The Place of Our Sanctuary

A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary. — Jeremiah 17:12 

In our busy lives, it's often hard to set aside time to rest and be quiet.

But God is the creator of our sanctuary.

His glorious throne was exalted from the beginning.

This is the place of our sanctuary.

We need to simply rest in the Lord.

He is the place of our sanctuary.

The Lord Is With Me

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? — Psalm 118:5-6

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord.

When I was diagnosed with cancer, I cried to Him.

Especially when I discovered I would have to go through chemo and lose my hair.

He brought me into a spacious place.

He restored my hair and my health.

Through it all, He gave me strength.

I felt His presence.

The Lord is with me still!

I will not be afraid.

I will not worry.
 

He will give me His peace.

He Whose Name Is Holy

For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. — Isaiah 57:15

Today is the first day of August.

Yesterday got up to the high 80s.

But we had a fun time in Solana Beach, celebrating our friend Nancy's 95th birthday.

A very fun time reconnecting with friends.

And enjoying delicious food.

And talking about our next road trip to Paso Robles.

Possibly visiting Dao vineyards again.

Thanking God for friends and wonderful times together.

We Have Received Grace

 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. — John 1:16

Jesus came to pay the price for our sin.

He brought us mercy and grace.

Out of His fullness we have received grace.

Today I received my official notice that they found no cancer in my last test results.

Kirk opened the letter.

Nice to see it in writing.

Thank you Lord.

Good News of the Kingdom of God

At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them.  But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” — Luke 4:42-43

Jesus went to a solitary place early in the morning.

God calls us to spend time in solitude with Him.

Jesus told the crowd that He must proclaim the good news.

God asks us to tell the good news of the kingdom of God, too.

Help me, Lord, to obey.

They Will Call Him Immanuel

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). — Matthew 1:22-23

God spoke to the prophets long before Jesus was born.

It was written that a virgin would give birth to a Son.

That son would be named Immanuel, which means God with us.

He came to die for us so that we can live with Him forever in heaven.

I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. — Isaiah 45:5-6

Palm Desert Sunset

God is Lord, and there is no other.

Apart from Him there is no God.

He gives me strength to get through any trials that come my way.

My Bible study group is reading Pilgrim's Progress right now.

Reading about the Hill of Difficulty that Christian climbs and the people he meets who try to take the easy path of Destruction or avoid the narrow way is very humbling.

I often act that way, too.

Even so, God gives me strength, forgiving me when I don't acknowledge Him.

From the rising of sun to its setting, people may know there is none besides Him.

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.

He Is Risen!

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. — Matthew 28:6

Saturday the sun was shining after several days of non-stop rain.

I took a picture of the sky when I went out to pick up the paper.

The birds are singing and we are rejoicing that Jesus has risen, just as He said.

God always keeps His promises.

On this holy Saturday, I am reminded of the price He paid for me, giving His life so I could live forever with Him.

What a Savior!

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. — Psalm 32:7

Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

God has protected me, even when I didn't even think to acknowledge Him.

He is my hiding place.

I know I can go to Him whenever I need to get away from the hectic day-to-day life.

He is my refuge.

He protects me from trouble.

He surrounds me with songs of deliverance and joy.

And He is my strength in times of exhaustion and worry.

When I remember that, I can turn all of my worries and cares over to Him.

I can get back to sleep knowing that it's in His hands and He has it under control.

What a blessed assurance.

Here's the blueberry cream cheese coffee cake I made Saturday morning.

The whole house smelled wonderful!

Remembering Pat

Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. — John 14:1-3

Saturday we went to a memorial service for our friend Pat.

She was the ultimate prayer warrior.

No matter the concern, Pat would be willing to pray.

In fact, she would call people and offer to pray for whatever they needed.

She would also write me notes of thanks to let me know how much she appreciated my singing when I would sing for our church services.

She would pray aloud during the prayer times at our services.

And she would pray whenever a group of us would gather and someone would express a need or concern.

We miss her already.

She showed us the love of Jesus through her own life.

Preparing a Place for Us

If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. — John 14:3-4

When my friend Peggy's daughter was two, she had memorized the 23rd Psalm. Not just a few verses, but the entire passage. I was amazed.

My daughter at two had memorized a few verses, but her gift was really prayer.

I was amazed at the way she could cut to the heart of the matter and talk to God so openly at such a young age.

One day, as we were talking about God and heaven, she asked me, "Mom, how do we get to heaven?"

I thought God was asking me to share the salvation story with her, so I launched into the fact that we have all done and said wrong things called sin, and how God sent Jesus to forgive us of those wrong things by dying on the cross for us so we can live with him in heaven some day. . ." 

And she interrupted me with, "Yes, I know that! (sigh of frustration) But how do we get there?"

To which I replied, "Well, I'm not sure."

She thought about it for a minute and then explained to me, "I think God reaches down His hand and shows us the way."

I had to agree. That must be it!

In this passage from John, Jesus explains that He will come back and take us to be with Him so we can be where He is.

How comforting to know that He has already prepared a home for us in heaven.