The Trumpet Call of God

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. — 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

In the last days, the Lord Jesus will come down from heaven.

He will come with a loud command.

With the voice of the archangel.

And with the trumpet call of God.

The dead in Christ will rise first.

After that, those of us who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds.

We will meet the Lord Jesus in the air.

And we will live with the Lord God forever and ever. 

What a glorious day!

The Lord Will Come Down from Heaven

The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. — 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 

On the day of Christ's return, God himself will come down from heaven.

We will hear the trumpet call of God.

The dead in Christ will rise first.

After that, we who are still alive will be caught up with them.

Together we will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

We will hear the voice of the archangel.

And we will be with the Lord forever.

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

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.

Pray for Those Who Persecute 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 5:44-45

Pray for those who persecute me?

Are you kidding?

But that's what God requires for us to be children of God in heaven.

He causes the sun to rise on evil and good.

God sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

He is worthy of my praise.

Today is Ernie's birthday.

His first one in Ohio.

We miss him, but he's enjoying riding his trainer even in the cold winter.

The Lord Knows When I Rise

 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. — Psalm 139:2

God knows me through and through.

He knows when I sit and when I get up.

The Lord perceives my thoughts.

He knows my prayers before I even think of what to say.

And He already knows what's best for me.

HIs rainbow promise reminds me that He cares for me.

Your Light Will RIse in the Darkness

If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. — Isaiah 58:11

God asks us to reach out to the hungry.

To meet the needs of the oppressed.

When we do, God's light will rise in the darkness.

And our night will become like the noonday.

Today I had my performance review with my supervisor.

He had nothing but compliments for me and my work over this past six months.

He is recommending that I be promoted to Vice President.

Our company usually promotes people to AVP - Associate VP first.

So he's not sure if I will be able to get the new title without that step.

Either way, it was a real blessing to be recognized for my hard work and accomplishments.

God has blessed me overwhelmingly.

I am grateful.

God Will Come Down from Heaven

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. — 1 Thessalonians 4:16 

Yesterday was rainy and cold in the morning.

Today is the same.

Abby and I went over to the YMCA to swim and ran to the outdoor check-in desk, getting quite wet.

When we got to the pool, the sun came out!

The water was warmer than usual, and felt really good after the cool air.

While we swam, it drizzled a bit and then the sun came out again.

Very refreshing swim.

God himself will come down from heaven in the last day.

We don't know when that will be.

So we live our lives each day for Him.

With His guidance and help, we can overcome setbacks and obstacles.

He leads us through the dark times and into the sun.

The Lord Is Gracious

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. — Isaiah 30:18

God has risen up to show me compassion.

He is faithful, even when I ignore Him.

He longs to be gracious to me.

And He shows me his love and grace each day.

He has answered my prayers for my friend Krista's husband.

He was hospitalized for a couple of weeks with internal bleeding.

He had to be on a ventilator for over a week.

Both Krista and her son could not visit him due to the coronavirus.

I was praying for all of them.

He is now home, after losing 30 pounds and going through some very rough times.

God is gracious and has shown His mercy to their family.