Today's Beginning

  Psalm 20:7 (NIV), "Some trust in chariots and some in horses but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." Monday... Yes, this we can know! It can be so easy for us to start our days, our week with some desires that just might happen. David in Psalm 20 in the New International Version in verses 1-5 uses the word word, "may" 6 times. Now the word "may" can mean "might" or "expressing a possibility". And verse 6b says, "May the LORD grant all your requests" and that is definitely a great desire and it could be a very real possibility. Now 6 of the "mays" that David writes are about God and one of them is about us. Verse 1 says, "May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the God of Jacob protect you." and verse 5 says, "May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God." And then verse 6 says, "Now this I know: The LORD gives victory to his anoi...

Romans 2:3 (NLT), "Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God's judgment when you do the same things?" Friday... Isn't it what we are supposed to do or not? Now we may think that we have a right to judge others. But in reality, we can be wrong. Now I know that it is so easy to have such a high opinion of ourselves and our actions, but we need to be really careful here. Paul in his letter to the Romans in 2:3 (NLT) writes something that should get our attention. He says, "Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God's judgment when you do the same things?" Yes, it is so easy to see the imperfections of them and not see us but God does? Now verse 4 is so important for us to see. It says, "Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?" ...

Proverbs 16:3 (NLT), "Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed." Thursday... Yes, we will succeed. Proverbs 16:3 (NLT) says this, "Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed." And we really want success, don't we? So the writer tells us that we must first commit our actions to the LORD. So it seems like we have a part in this matter of success. There are actions involved. Success doesn't come from just giving our desires and our plans to God and then saying, "OK, it's up to you." Verse 9 says, "We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps." And that is so true. I just finished reading the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Bible. And Paul throughout the book kept saying that he was going to Rome. Now this morning I started reading Paul's letter to the Romans. He wrote this letter on one of his trips. Here in Romans 1:10 Paul writes, "One of the things I always pr...

Acts 28:31 (NIV),  "He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ - with all boldness and without hindrance." Wednesday... It is so easy to think of the end instead of the opportunity. I keep thinking about the end. Now I don't know when that will be but the older I get it seems that I become more focused on it. But is it really what I should be doing? Oh we need to be ready to die. We need to know and take care of our relationship with God. That takes care of the negativity of death. But here is how Luke the writer of the book of Acts finishes the book. A big part of this book is about the Apostle Paul but here is how Luke ends the book. Verses 30 and 31 says, "For two whole years Paul stayed in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ - with all boldness and without hindrance." Luke doesn't tell us how Paul died. He wrote about what he did. A...

  Proverbs 14:3 (NLT), "Those who follow the right path fear the LORD; those who take the wrong path despise him." Tuesday... There is a way that seems right. Yes we feel we are so smart and we believe we know what the right way looks like. Proverbs 14:12 (AMP) says, "There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but it's end is the way of death." Yes, we feel we are so smart and we know what the right way is, don't we? Now verse 3 (NLT) also says, "Those who follow the right path fear the LORD; those who take the wrong path despise him." So we need to make sure which is the right path. We need to do what God says. Now over in the book of Acts, Paul was put on a ship as a prisoner to go to Rome. Yes, as we read here in the book of Acts in the Bible it was God's plan for him to go to Rome but there were difficulties. With difficulties we too many times think that this must not be the right path but as we read, God ma...

Psalm 13:5 (AMP), "But I have trusted and relied in and been confident in Your lovingkindness and faithfulness; My heart shall rejoice and delight in your salvation." Monday... So how do I handle a new day? I love the writings of King David in the Old Testament of the Bible. He is so honest and experienced and that is why I have turned to his writings for over 50 years. Now a big portion of the 150 Psalms in the Old Testament of the Bible were written by him. And Psalm 13 is a great example in how to handle a new day. In his honesty he starts this Psalm with some questions that I'm sure we sometimes have. In verses 1-2 he speaks from his heart. He asks four questions. He asks, "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart day after day?" Now that is honesty. Do we ever ask God questions like that? Or do we use those feelings as a reason to not believe in...