Bring me closer to You

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. v 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. v 13 And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. v 14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity." ~ Jeremiah 29:11-14a

I started a new devotional today, the first day of January 2014. For the past four years I have been studying from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "I Want to Live These Days with You."  Today and throughout this year, I will be studying from Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling."

Jeremiah 29:11 is a wonderful passage with which to start a new year, a new day, a new beginning. 

Bring me closer Lord Jesus
closer to You
so every day
I can know
how to be more like You
how to respond to another
my husband (or wife)
my friends
my co-workers
my neighbors
casual acquaintances

Bring me closer Lord Jesus
closer to You
so when I wake
I will say
What today Lord?
What will you teach me?
What will I learn? 

Bring me closer Lord Jesus
closer to You
show me how to be
kind and gentle
and patient always
not filling my mind
with contention and hate
not being jealous or envious
not selfish
not frustrated
not given to angry outbursts

Bring me closer Lord Jesus
closer to You
and stay by my side
as I onward go.

(c) January 1, 2014