Today's Beginning

  Romans 5:5a (NLT), "And this hope will not lead to disappointment." Wednesday... Now this hope doesn't disappoint. There can be so much out there that we hope for. What is your major hope for today? What is the major hope for your life? Did you wake up today with a hope? I had a guy at my coffee shop say they liked my Los Angeles Dodgers hat. I got two new ones for my birthday. That is all I ever hope for so I am always rewarded. Now that of course is not a major hope. What if my kids bought me something else? I would be glad for whatever it is because my kids got it for me. But I am glad to get a new Dodgers hat. Sometimes we are very disappointed when we don't get what we hope for. A lot of people were really disappointed when their soccer team didn't win the World Cup. Only one nation got what they hoped for. There were a lot of tears at the end of that last match. The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans says something that is really encouraging. In Roma...

  Proverbs 21:31 (NLT) says, "The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance and victory belong to the LORD." Tuesday... Do we really believe? Oh, we may really believe in our self and our abilities and we know that we will be victorious but is that really the truth? We may have real faith in us but is that really enough? Now Proverbs 21:31 (NLT) gives another thought. It says, "The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance and victory belong to the LORD." Wait a minute, we are prepared, we have what it takes so we will be victorious. And so many really believe that? Now the proverb right before this, verse 30 says, "There is no [human]wisdom or understanding or counsel [that can prevail] against the LORD." None! Yes the answer to, do we really believe in ourselves may be true but is that really enough? The NLT says verse 30 this way, "No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the LORD." And that is ...

  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...