Today's Beginning

  Proverbs 9:11-12 (NLT), "Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer." Thursday... It just is so easy. There are so many voices within us that want to be heard and followed but the voice of wisdom makes all the difference. Yes it does. But it is so easy to follow those other voices, it really is but wisdom is so important. Proverbs 9:11 (NLT) says, "Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life." But those other voices are so loud. They are hard to ignore. Now I have found the book of Proverbs to be a place I need to go on a regular basis and I believe it has added years to my life. Yes, verse 12 is so true, "If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit." And the next part is also true, "If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer." Verse 10 is so important. It says, "Fear of the LORD is the foundat...

Psalm 8:6 (NLT), "You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority." Wednesday... He gave us another chance. Here is what David writes in Psalm 8:6 (NLT), "You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority." Now if we go back and read those first chapters in the Bible, God did the same thing. He gave authority over everything He had made to Adam and Eve with one stipulation but they blew it for themselves and for all of us. But that wasn't the end. He didn't check us all off of His pad. Yes, He did change some things but He also put into motion giving us another opportunity, another chance. Again David writes in Psalm 8:6 (NLT), "You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority." But do we do the same thing with others and with ourselves? Some haven't forgiven themselves and given themselves another chance to not blow it. What happens w...

Psalm 7:9 (NIV), "Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure - you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts." Tuesday... Being honest is so important. David writes in Psalm 7:9 (NIV), "Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure - you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts." Now God is a righteous God and he probes our minds and heart. Yes, we need to realize that fact and be honest with ourselves and with God. In verse 1, David writes, "LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me apart like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me." Now he goes on to say in verse 3, "LORD my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands" and verse 5, "then let my enemies pursue and overtake me; let them trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust." The NLT says, "Let them trample me ...

Isaiah 66:2 (NIRV), "'Didn't I make everything by my power? That is how all things were created,' announces the LORD, 'The people I value are not proud. They are sorry for the wrong things they have done. They have great respect for what I say." Monday... Dependency is so important. Now if I am going to depend on someone then who they are and what they have done makes all the difference. Look at what the prophet Isaiah says in 66:2 (NIRV), "'Didn't I make everything by my power? That is how all things were created,' announces the LORD, 'The people I value are not proud. They are sorry for the wrong things they have done. They have great respect for what I say." Yes, the LORD created it all by his power. The Amplified Bible says, "'For all these things My hand has made, so all these things came into being [by and for Me]' declares the LORD." That is where we start. We must believe and that to be the truth. We must dep...

Psalm 3:3 (NLT), "But you O LORD, are a shield around me; you are the glory, the one that holds my head high." Friday... I love its honesty. David writes in Psalm 3:3 (NLT), "But you O LORD, are a shield around me; you are the glory, the one that holds my head high." But that is not where he starts. Verses 1 & 2 says, "O LORD, I have so many enemies; So many are saying, 'God will not rescue him.'" Now, so many end there, they won't go on and they agree with what others say, "'God will not rescue him." Maybe that is where you are today. But not David and not Paul in the New Testament of the Bible. Yes, they understand that life can and will be tough but they are not alone. Paul in Acts 20:23 (NIRV) says, "Now I am going to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit compels me. I don't know what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Spirit warns me. He tells me that I will face prison and suffering." There is...

Acts 19:21 (NLT), "Afterwards Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. 'And after that,' he said, 'I must go to Rome!'" Thursday... But I must go to Rome. Have you ever felt that you needed to do something? You were driven to do it! Acts 19:21 (NLT) says, "Afterwards Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. 'And after that,' he said, 'I must go to Rome!'" There are so many benefits with having a relationship with God. He has a plan and purpose for our life and we can and must be opened to it. Somewhere in all of Paul's journeys he felt that he needed to go to Rome. At some point in his life he felt that he was going there. And it made so much sence. He had gone to Athens and it made sense that if he was going to reach the Gentiles then he needed to go to Rome but not just yet. Now he had spent some time in the town of Ephe...