Today's Beginning

Luke 4:14 (NLT), "Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit's power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region." Thursday... How do you  feel after this happens? Luke writes in 4:1-2 {NLT), "Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry." And that was the devil's first temptation. Verses 3-4 says, "Then the devil said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.' But Jesus told him, 'No! The scriptures says, '"People do not live by bread alone"'" Each of us will be tempted. It happened to Jesus 3 times at this particular time but he handled it and we also will be tempted and we too can handle it with God ion our lives. No and scripture makes a big difference in how we handle it. Ye...

Ecclesiastes 8:1 (NLT), "How wonderful to be wise, to analyze and interpret things. Wisdom lights up a person's face, softening harshness." Wednesday... It is one of the great gifts from God. It really is! Solomon who was one of the wisest men ever says in Ecclesiastes 8:1 (NLT), "How wonderful to be wise, to analyze and interpret things. Wisdom lights up a person's face, softening harshness." Now being smart is also a good thing but wisdom goes beyond smart. Yes, it is fun to get A's on our tests but it is so great to be able to analyze and interpret things. To have that person and even yourself say, "Now that makes sense." and to see your's and their face light up because you have the answer to whatever you and they are facing. Verses 5-6 says, "Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble....

Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NLT), "Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride." Tuesday... Have you ever changed your mind? Have you ever started something? You believed it was a very good thing to do. You felt clear and then started it but at some point you started thinking that maybe it wasn't the right thing to do. It was too hard so you decided to not finish it. In other words, you changed your mind. Now in my reading Ecclesiastes 7 this morning I came across verse 8 (NLT), "Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride." Sometimes in the middle of something that we think we are to do we start thinking that maybe I should quit. It doesn't seem like it is falling into place the way I think it should. Our pride can get in the way of our wisdom, our patience.. Again Solomon says here, "Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride." At some point in this past year Margaret and I thought we were doi...

Psalm 66:5 (NLT), "Come and see what God has done, what awesome miracles he performs for people." Monday... Let's come and see! There is so much to see in God's Word. Here the writer of Psalm 66:5 (NLT) says , "Come and see what God has done, what awesome miracles he performs for people." And being in God's Word is a great place to be as we start a new day and a new week. Now the Psalmist then takes us through some past miracles from God. It is always good even on a Monday to remember what God has done and of course we are just coming out of our celebration of Jesus being resurrected from the dead. Yes, the greatest of all of God's miracles I finished yesterday reading in the Gospel of Mark and of his view of Jesus' life and death and in Mark 16 of His resurrection but today I started looking at the beginning of Jesus life in Luke's Gospel. Now in chapter 1 it starts differently of the three other gospels. In starts with an angel coming to a...

Mark 14:38 (NKJV), "Watch and pray, lest you enter temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." Friday... He was definitely an example. Jesus on this Good Friday definitely was an example for us. He knew where our battles are won. Now on the day before, Jesus had brought his disciples together to encourage them. They had heard all that He had said but they still didn't really understand what was about to happen. And that is true of us in so many situations. Yes, what we call the Last Supper was a very special time but after it the real battle began. We in our humanness have so many temptations and Jesus had a human side. He knew what needed to be done by them and by Him to face what was about to happen. His Spiritual side knew there was a battle in His human side that needed to be won. So they all headed to a Garden. I just read Ecclesiastes 3 and in verse 8b (MSG) Solomon says, "A right time to wage war and another to make peace." and Jesus knew wh...

Psalm 63:1 (NLT), "I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him." Thursday... So, let's wait quietly. Now waiting quietly is so difficult and it is dependent upon who we believe is in control. Now if we think it is us then we are not so quiet are we? Now King David writes in Psalm 63:1 (NLT), "I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him." I am also reading a chapter a day in the book of Ecclesiastes and it is a very honest book. Solomon is the writer and he is known as the wisest man who has ever lived. He also wrote the book of Proverbs and I spend a lot of time in that book.  Now in the first verse of chapter 2 (NLT) of Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes, "I said to myself, 'Come on, let's try pleasure. Let's look for the '"good things"' in life.' But I found that this too, was meaningless." And he goes on and comes to the conclusion that all in life that we really give ourselves totally to do are ...