Today's Beginning

Psalms 130:5 (AMP), " "I wait [patiently] for the LORD, my soul [expectantly] waits, and in His word do I hope." Tuesday... We can wait expectantly with patience and hope. Now, I really don't know what it would be like to live without a relationship with God. I have lived with Him personally for over 70 years. Have you found that relationships are so very import in our lives? Margaret and I celebrated our 52nd anniversary yesterday but we have known each other for 60+ years. I have had so many good friends throughout my life. Relationships are so very important and I have found that a relationship with God makes such a difference. Look at this verse here in Psalms 130:5 (AMP). It says, "I wait [patiently] for the LORD, my soul [expectantly] waits, and in His word do I hope." There are three very important words there in the Amplified Bible translation. The words patiently, expectantly and hope are so very important and they make such a difference even when ...

Proverbs 9:12 (NLT), "If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer." Monday... There are benefits if we choose it. Let's say we have this lamp and it has a cord and we have two choices to choose from to plug it in to get light. Now the closer plug isn't connected to anything but the other is connected to electricity. You plug into one and you get no light and the other is light. Now as long as the sun is shining outside and the blinds are open then there is no problem but when it gets dark then there is trouble. Now maybe we have this house manual that tells us which one is the wise one to plug into then we do what it says. It first is wiser to check the manual and then to do what it says.  The house manual says if we choose the right one we will benefit for a long time but the closer one makes sense and I really don't like manuals. I am really smart and I can figure it out. But is that wise? Now Proverbs 9...

Psalms 126:6 (NLT), "They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest." Friday... Life brings with it different emotions. There are many emotions that come as we evaluate our life. Today is my wife's birthday. She is truly the greatest gift outside of Jesus to me personally from God. In three days it will be our 52nd anniversary. Yes, that is really amazing. I have to be honest, birthdays and anniversaries can be difficult to me because they have numbers attached to them. Especially these later ones. Now Psalm 126:6 is a tremendous verse for this time of life. It says, "They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest." Yes, there can be weeping in the planting. It can be easy to feel some despair in evaluating the planting of seeds. Ours is not a perfect family but we are a family who loves God and that is what being a Christian parent is all about. Now over in 2 Timothy 4 the writer ...

Psalms 125:2 (NLT), "Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, both now and forever." Thursday... They surround our city. Psalms 125:2 (NLT) says, "Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, both now and forever." I live in a city that has mountains all around it. It is great. I know first hand what this verse here in Psalm 125 means. Right now I can look out and see snow on Mt Charleston. We had rain on Halloween night but the mountains had snow. Now the rain was something but it wasn't snow. Again, "Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, both now and forever." That is so good for us to be reminded of, "the LORD surrounds his people." Now the key is "his people." No matter what you are going through or will go through as a Christ follower the LORD surrounds you both now and forever. I am looking out the window and I can see Mt Ch...

Psalms 124:2-3 (NLT), "What if the LORD had not been on our side when people attack us? They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger." Wednesday... We can feel like losers sometimes. Yes, God gave us feelings but he did not intend for them to become our master. It is important to not let temporary feelings make permanent decisions. Now Psalms 124:2-3 (NLT) says, "What if the LORD had not been on our side when people attack us? They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger." And the "What if the LORD had not been on our side" is a good thing to be reminded of when we feel like losers. Yes, we can feel like losers sometimes. And the Psalmist asks, "What if the LORD had not been on our side when people attack us? They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger." Maybe you are feeling like you have been swallowed alive in burning anger. Now verses 6-8 says, "Praise the LORD, who did not let their teeth tear us ...

Proverbs 3:11 (NLT), "My child, don't reject the LORD's discipline, and don't be upset when he corrects you." Tuesday... We so strive to be perfect. For sure we don't like to be wrong. Even as children we had trouble when we were corrected and even punished by our parents but sometimes we blow it, don't we? The book of wisdom, Proverbs, understands this problem that we have and in Proverbs 3:11 (NLT) it says, "My child, don't reject the LORD's discipline, and don't be upset when he corrects you." But it is so easy for us to be upset. Especially if we are perfectionists and so many of us are. We don't like making mistakes and for sure being corrected for them. The Amplified Bible translates verses 11 & 12 this way. It says, "My son, do not reject or take lightly the discipline of the LORD [learn from your mistakes and the testing that comes from His correction through discipline]; nor despise His rebuke. For those whom the...