Category Archives: Jeremiah

Blessed with hope

Laura James
Sermon on the Mount, 2010
from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. [retrieved February 16, 2025]. Original source: Laura James, laurajamesart.com/collections/religious/

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD. Jeremiah 17:7

We are living in a time of cosmic stress. As frail human beings, we may feel distraught, overwhelmed, grief-stricken, angry, helpless.

But, blessed with hope, we know that God’s vision of peace and unity is in motion. God is trustworthy. God sustains us and gives us the courage to carry on the mission of love and compassion even amid the turbulence of human greed, injustice, indifference, and cruelty.

Today I will pray, “Lord, I trust you” whenever I feel afraid or in doubt. I will intentionally choose the path of hope and kindness in all my interactions and know God blesses my efforts to bring peace to my corner of the world.

A wider, deeper heart

Tree of Jesse Icon, 17th c.

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all. 1 Thessalonians 3:12

My capacity to give and receive love dips and rises and mostly seems to plateau at a level that feels most comfortable for me. What would it feel like to continually increase in love, to greet the world and everyone in it with an abundance of joy, compassion, kindness, respect, encouragement, and delight?

Today I will ask God to widen and deepen my heart to increase my capacity for love.