Todays Beginning

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Thursday... We have freedom and abilities.

Thursday... We have freedom and abilities. Now Psalm 136:1 (AMP) says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness, (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever." Who we are and what abilities we have starts with the fact that God is good. Each day starts with a thankful heart. Okay? Yes, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good." Yes, He is! Yes, He is! But it goes on. Proverbs 16:9 says, "A man's mind plans his ways [as he journeys through life]," Yes, God is good and He gives us freedom and abilities but it is not all on us. Verse 9 continues. It says, "But the Lord directs his steps and establishes them." The Messages says, "We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it." Then verse 20 (AMP) says, "He who pays attention to the word [of God] will find good." Remember, God is good. "And blessed (happy, prosperous. to be admired) is he who trusts [confidently] in the

Wednesday... There are so many amazing happenings.

Wednesday... There are so many amazing happenings. Life is such an amazing journey with God. Psalm 135:5-6 (NKJV) says, "For I know that the Lord is great, and the Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases He does, in heaven and earth, in the seas and in all the deeps." It is amazing what He can do and does. But we don't always know that it is Him at work. Peter over in the book of Acts in the NT 12:5 says, "Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church." Now we pray. That is what we do when we worship a God who is great and who can do whatever pleases Him. Yes we pray, yes we connect with our God but when something happens we may wonder. Ok, Peter was in prison. Verse 7 (NLT) says, "Suddenly. there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter." And he struck him, he woke him up and told him to get up. "And the chains fell off his wrists." and the angel

Tuesday... Many of us it seems have problems here.

Tuesday... Many of us it seems have problems here. I know I can. Proverbs 14:29 (NLT) says, "People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness." We can be so quick in our temper, can't we? When all we need is to take time to stop and strive to understand. The Amplified Bible gives a little more detail. It says, "He who is slow to anger has great understanding [and profits from self-control]." How many times have we jumped to a conclusion but then find that we look so foolish? Oh if we would just stop and strive to understand what is happening and do all we can to listen. James the brother of Jesus over in his book in the New Testament in chapter 1:19 (NLT) gives such good advice. James writes, "Understand this," There's that word again. " Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters; You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry." I love how The Message says it. It says, "

Monday... Look at these. They will make a difference.

Monday... Look at these. They will make a difference. Today is the 13th of May and I just read Proverbs 13 in the Old Testament of the Bible and here are some wise words to take hold of and live out. Verse 10 (NLT) says, "Pride leads to conflict;" Now that is so true. It seems that all conflict comes from pride. I know what is right. Yes I do. So you need to listen to me. No you need to listen to me. "Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise." But that shows that I'm weak. No, it shows you are wise. Verse 11, "Wealth from get-rich-schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time." Now that is very wise advice. I know it can be hard to get up on a Monday morning and head out to work but that is the way it works. And it is important to even at a young age to start saving a little bit at a time. Yes, it can be hard to save and to live on a budget but it will make all the difference in your life. It also means that you can

Friday... He knows where we are.

Friday... He knows where we are. I don't know where you are in your life but he knows and he can and will make a difference. Yes, he will. Here are the first verses that I read this morning and here is the key. A great place to start our day is the Bible. I know, I know, that is an endless record that I play but it does, it really does make a difference in our day. So here is what Psalm 130:1-2 (NLT) says, "From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help. Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer." And that is the next place for us to go in our new day. Now, let's say that we wake up with a deep memory of what we might have done yesterday and we feel guilty. That can bring great despair. Guilt is a horrible way to start our day. Verses 3 & 4 says, "Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you." And that is great news. The Amplified Bible says it this way

Thursday... We really, really need good judgement.

Thursday... We really, really need good judgement. Have you found that true? Proverbs 9:6 (NLT) says, "Leave your simple ways behind and begin to live; learn to use good judgement." This verse jumped out at me as I was reading this morning. And it is so true. Look at verse 10. It says, "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgement." What are you facing today? I woke up early this morning with some decisions I needed to make and they are not just simple decisions so they needed good judgement. We make so many decisions just based on our emotions, don't we? What do I want to do? What makes sense to me? But there is more to life than just living in simple ways. Verse 6 in the Amplified Bible says, "Leave [behind] your foolishness [and the foolish] and live, and walk in the way of insight and understand." And verse 10, "The [revenant[ fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as