Today's Beginning

Matthew 25:15 (NIV), "To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on a journey." Wednesday... We each have been given an ability. Somehow we need to realize that God have given each one of us at least one ability. Yes, he has created us with a purpose. Matthew 25:15 (NIV) says, "To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on a journey." But we step into life and look around and say, "But I don't have what he has" and that is so true but we each one do have something. The problem is we let fear or possibly laziness, and maybe excuses keep us from our potential. But the reward is worth the effort. Jesus tells the story of this guy who goes on a long trip and he puts his three servants in charge of all he owned and he knew what each servant could do, he knew their potential. And God is the same with ...

Psalm 40:6b (NLT), "Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand." Tuesday... I finally understand. We go through situations in our life. We believe that God is a part of our life but it is so easy for us to step back and say that we don't understand why we are going through what we are going through. Why isn't the LORD taking care of us? Maybe you are going through one of those times in your life right now. King David in Psalm 40:6b (NLT) says, "Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand." And that is why some situations happen in our lives. God wants us to finally listen and understand. Verse 1 (AMP) says, "I waited patiently and expectantly for the LORD; And he inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay." And during those times we wonder why we got stuck in the mud, this clay. "I waited patiently and expectantly for the LORD." And we...

Proverbs 9:8 (AMP), "Do not correct a scoffer [who foolishly ridicules and takes no responsibility for his error] or he will hate you; Correct a wise man [who learns from his error], and he will love you." Monday... We want to make a difference in everyone. But... Now I know Jesus wanted to make a difference in everyone but each one of us has a choice. Over in Matthew 23:37 (NIV) Jesus says, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing." And Jesus did not give up. Solomon writes in Proverbs 9:8 (AMP), "Do not correct a scoffer [who foolishly ridicules and takes no responsibility for his error] or he will hate you; Correct a wise man [who learns from his error], and he will love you." Yes, that is the wise thing to do but what if the scoffer is someone we love. We want to make a difference in everyo...

Matthew 22:29 (NLT), "Jesus replied, 'Your mistake is that you don't know the Scriptures, and you don't know the power of God.'" Friday... There is power in knowing! Even up to the end of Jesus' life he was having trouble with the religious leaders. They were always trying to trick Jesus. But they couldn't trap him. In this particular situation in Matthew 22 in verse 29 (NLT) it says, "Jesus replied, 'Your mistake is that you don't know the Scriptures, and you don't know the power of God.'" Now these religious leaders should have known. They had access to all the Scriptures at that time but they were coming from a wrong perspective. They were using it to lift themselves up and put others down. They used the Scripture for control. But Jesus knew all the Scriptures. It was all preparing for his coming to earth. As someone said, the Old Testament was His story. Yes Jesus got them. And after another time of trying to trick Jesus v...

Psalm 35:1 (NLT), "O LORD, oppose those who oppose me, fight those who fight against me." Thursday... Each day is different. Yesterday was a beautiful day. It really was but today the wind is blowing and the clouds are hiding our mountains. Yes, we can praise God on the beautiful days but we also need him when the wind is blowing and we can pray, "O LORD, oppose those who oppose me, fight those who fight against me." (Psalm 35:1 NLT). Now we can expect each day to be beautiful but the wind does blow in our lives. David's prayer continues in verse 2, "Put on your armor, and take up your shield. Prepare for battle, and come to my aid." And maybe that is the prayer we need to pray today. I love verse 3. It says, "Lift up your spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Let me hear you say, 'I will give you victory!'" There may be a battle in there but know this, listen to God when he says, "I will give you victory." The NIVR...

Psalm 34:1 (NLT), "I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises." Wednesday... Let's keep at it. Well, it's a new day. We have never lived this day. Now how we face it at the beginning of our day goes a long way in how we will handle it. David said in Psalm 34:1 (NLT), "I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises." There are four words that will make a difference in this day. The first three are, "at all times" and then "constantly." And that last one hit me this morning. It was definitely a word of encouragement. Of course at all times and constantly are saying the same thing. They are reinforcing each other. So how do we normally wake up most of the time? Rick Warren said that we wake up each morning with "Good Lord it's morning" or "Good Morning Lord." We do have choices in how we start each day. Yes, we have no choice in what we will face but we do have a...