Todays Beginning

Friday... Why, oh why? I love the book of Proverbs found over in the Old Testament of the Bible. The book of Proverbs is filled with choices and I wonder, why, oh why do people choose the option that they choose instead of the other one? Maybe they don't know the benefit or the consequences of their choice. Let me give you some examples found in Proverbs 12. Today is the 12th day of April so I read the 12th chapter of 31 chapters of Proverbs. Here are some examples, some choices that we each one have. Verse 15 (NLT), "Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others." 16, "A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted." 17, "An honest witness tells the truth, a false witness tells lies." 18, ""Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing." 19, "Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed." 20, "Deceit fills hearts that are plotting ev

Thursday... I will, yes, I will. Life can really be tough sometimes and we don't always handle it the way we would want to so David in Psalm 101 could be speaking to us. In verses 1-2 (CEV) he says four I wills. There is a part that we play in every situation that we are in and the I wills can make such a difference in our handling them. Here is what David says, "I will sing to you, Lord! I will celebrate your kindness and your justice. Please help me learn to do the right thing and I will be honest and fair in my own kingdom." Now we have no control over what happens to us but we do have control over our response. It has taken me a lifetime of when I go through a negative, a difficult situation to come up with a positive spin to it and the ability to do that has come by spending a lifetime in God's word. Listen, it really does make a difference. Here are four choices, I will sing, I will celebrate and I will be honest and a silent one, I will ask God for help. The ot

Wednesday... There are so many in our life. There really are. But the writer of Psalm 100:3 (NLT) says, "Acknowledge that the Lord is God!"  Yes there are many lords in our life. So many different lords that seem to want to control our lives, that we look to to bring us what we want and they want.  When we are striving to make a decision there are so many lords, so many voices inside of us that are saying, "Do this, do this" but we need to stop and listen to and "Acknowledge that the Lord is God!" You notice that this Lord is a capital Lord and that the sentence ends with an exclamation point. All those others clamoring for control and attention are not capitalized and do not have an exclamation point. And that is so important to acknowledge. It really is. Here is what the whole verse says, "Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture." Now there is another portion of scripture that em

Tuesday... It definitely is the truth. Jesus over in John 16:33 (NIV) says something that everyone of us, believer or not, definitely know to be the truth. He says, "In this world you will have trouble." We all know that to be the truth. Now we look at what we are going though or have gone through in our lives and can say, "It is definitely the truth."  Now Jesus had the ability to not only look into the past or the present but also the future. In verse 32 he says to his 12 disciples, "A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone." Yes, "In this world you will have trouble." and that is where so many of us stop.  But Jesus doesn't stop with "You will leave me all alone," he continues by saying, "for my Father is with me." Jesus knew what was ahead for him but he also knew that he was not alone.  He then says, "I have told you these things, so that

Monday... This could be that time. Here in the desert where we live, we do have different seasons and there are different water cycles which make such a difference. Now we only have on average 4 inches of rain in a year. We are a desert. So if are going to have any green we need water and so we are on a cycle of how much. In the winter months we get water one day a week in the spring and the fall we get three days of water and then in the summer we get six days.  Now there isn't any growth in the winter for us like it is also true of you and your winters but then the growth starts to happen when we get three day of water. And I am in the process of doing trimming the wild branches on our bushes and shrubs. And it will make such a difference in them. They need it and we love to see the difference. Now Jesus talked about us in John 15:1-2 (NLT). He says, "I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardner. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and h

Friday... We do have choices. The writer of Psalm 95:6-7 (NLT) says, "Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!" "If only." The writer of Proverbs 5:12-14 says, "You will say, 'How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all the warnings! Oh, why didn't I pay attention to my teachers? Why didn't I pay attention to my instructors? I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace.'" "If only." And then one more. Over in John 14:1-2, John the Apostle quotes Jesus who said, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?" Verses 6-7, "Jesus told him, 'I am the