The Hope of Glory

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. — Colossians 1:27-28 

Christ is in me, the hope of glory.

He is the one we proclaim.

God has chosen. us to tell about the glorious riches of the mytery of Christ in us.

He calls us to teach everyone with His wisdom.

So we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.

Growing in the knowledge of Him.

In Him We Have Redemption

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. — Ephesians 1:7 

In Jesus we have redemption.

He bought us back with a hefty price.

Through His blood we are redeemed.

And He forgives my my sins - the wrong things I say and do.

Every time I miss the mark, He brings me back.

He redirects me and sends me on His way.

All because of His marvelous grace.

The Eyes of Your Heart May Be Enlightened

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. — Ephesians 1:18 

Paul prayed that our hearts would be enlightened.

That we may know the hope to which Jesus calls us.

And the riches of His glorious inheritance.

The inheritance God gives us in His holy people.

We are in the process of calling a new pastor to lead our church.

That God would use that person to guide our congregation to know the hope of Jesus.

And to hear His calling for our lives.

The. Wisdom and Knowledge of God

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! — Romans 11:33 

I've been reading Proverbs and the wisdom of Solomon.

The riches of God's wisdom is especially evident in these passages.

His knowledge is deeper than we can comprehend.

And the fact that He gave Solomon wisdom is amazing.

The Lord's judgments are unsearchable.

His compassion and love are overwhelming.

And His mercy is beyond our understanding.

His is our loving and merciful Father!

The Hope of Glory

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. — Colossians 1:26-27 

Christ is in us, the hope of glory.

God has chosen to make known His glorious riches among the the world.

Jesus is the one we proclaim.

So we may present everyone fully mature in Christ,

That everyone may come to know Him fully.

Redemption Through His Blood

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. — Ephesians 1:7 

In Jesus we have redemption from our sins.

He paid the ultimate price when He died on the cross for us.

Forgiving us of our sins - the wrong things we say and do.

In accordance with the riches of God's grace.

And by His mercy and compassion for His creation.

The Upright Will Be Blessed

Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever. — Psalm 112:2-3

Those people who fear the Lord will see their children grow to be mighty.

The generation of the upright will be blessed by God.

Wealth and riches are in their houses.

Not just monetary wealth but the wealth of family and friends, good health, and meaningful work.

Their righteousness endures forever.

Welcome, December!

Come, Lord Jesus.

The Eyes of Your Heart May Be Enlightened

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. — Ephesians 1:18 

My coworkers decorated my cubicle on Friday for my birthday.

And Monday we'll go to lunch to celebrate.

I am blessed!

I pray that God will enlighten my heart.

So that I may know the hope to which he's called me.

The riches of his glorious inheritance.

So I may join the company of His holy people.

The Eyes of Your Heart

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. — Ephesians 1:18 

I pray that I may be enlightened.

That I may know the hope to which God has called me.

He has called us to the riches of His glorious inheritance.

This inheritance is available to his holy people.

Here are the new floors we put in our kitchen.

So nice to have floorboards that are not warped.

And the companies and people we worked with were great.

I Rejoice

I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. — Psalm 119:14

On our trip to France we saw many castles and chateaus with lots of riches.

From the residences of kings and queens of France to the cathedrals they had built.

Plus paintings and sculptures in the Louvre and at Versaille.

We saw the Mona Lisa and many amazing tapestries and architectural marvels.

And even the collections in the places we stayed - full of valuable antiques and porcelain.

Just as the aristocracy of France reveled in great riches and works of art, so we rejoice in following God.

And in His statutes and laws.

That You May Know the Hope to Which He Has Called You

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. — Ephesians 1:18 

Lord, help my heart to enlightened.

So that I may know that hope to which You have called me,

The riches of your glorious inheritance.

That I might live with you in heaven someday.

Thanks to the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for me.

So that I, too, might be holy in God's sight.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit.

All glory to God!

The Depth of the Riches of God's Wisdom

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! — Romans 11:33

God's wisdom is too deep for my understanding.

His knowledge is higher than I can comprehend.

The Lord's judgments are unsearchable.

I can't begin to trace His paths.

Here's the lunar supermoon that appeared in the sky last night.

This picture is from our house.

Part of the lunar eclipse.

How majestic is Your name, O Lord!

In Him We Have Redemption

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. — Ephesians 1:7

Jesus died for us.

In Him we have redemption.

Because Jesus died for us and shed His blood for our sin.

All to forgive us from our sins.

We benefitted from the riches of God's grace.

He is merciful.

And He cares for us even more than the birds, which He clothes in all their beautiful finery.

How much more God provides for us.

Numbering the hairs on our head.

Do Not Set Your Heart on Riches

Though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. — Psalm 62:10 

Although God often gives us worldly riches, we are not to put our trust in them.

We do not follow the prosperity gospel.

Although God takes care of all our needs, He does not give us everything we want.

Just those things that are best for us.

Jesus did not come to save us from bad things.

Rather, He came to save us from our own sin - from the wrong things we say and do.

Here's the crocodile we saw at the zoo last week.

Until he opened his mouth, he looked like a statue.

God's creation is amazing.

He has done great things.

God Rules Over All

Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.  — 1 Chronicles 29:12

God has the power to strengthen me.

He can lift me up when I feel like falling.

He gave me the ability to go for a two hour walk after my chemo treatments.

And he helped me recover from cancer.

His hand is power and might.

He created the world and put us in it to do His will.

Riches and honor come from Him.

He rules over all.

Encouraged in Heart

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. — Colossians 2:2-23

La Jolla Shores

Paul is writing to the people in Colossae, to encourage them.

We often need to be encouraged, too.

God wants us to be united in love.

He wants us to have the full riches of complete understanding.

But I don't always understand.

The more I read His Word, the more I begin to understand.

Each time I read it, He opens my mind and heart to something new.

Scripture is living and active.

When I remember to pray before I read, He speaks to me through the words on the page.

In Christ is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

How cool.

Hidden Treasures

I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. — Isaiah 45:3

Palm Desert Flowers

God has shown me that He is the Lord.

He has given me hidden treasures — sometimes in the everyday occurrences of life.

God has stored riches in secret places, even right under my nose.

He is the God of Israel, but He is also my father.

He calls me by name. I am His.

These are some flowers we saw everywhere we went in Palm Desert.

We love them, but are not sure what they are called.

Once we find out, we will get some for up against our house.

The bright orange will be a wonderful contrast to our stucco.

Enlightened

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. — Ephesians 1:18

I don't pray as often as I should.

Rather, I spend my time doing other things that get in the way of my relationship with Him.

I pray that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened.

I also pray for my friends and family members who don't know Jesus.

That their eyes and heart may also be enlightened.

So that they will know the hope to which He has called us.

And the riches of His glorious inheritance.

We are His own.

He has called us as His holy people.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! — Romans 11:33

God's wisdom is deep and rich.

His knowledge is beyond our imagination.

His judgments are right and true.

God's paths are beyond anything we can imagine.

He is unsearchable.

He is our Creator and His wisdom is rich.

We are blessed.

He Has Called Us

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. — Ephesians 1:18

On Halloween our office had a party, potluck, costume party, and an all around fun time.

Here I am with one of my coworkers, hamming it up as "content witches," brewing up a batch of creative writing.

We have a great team of people and a fun time together.

God has called me to this place for this time.

I pray that my eyes would be enlightened and that all of us would know the hope to which God has called us.

He gives us a rich inheritance.

I am thankful.