Todays Beginning

Saturday... We are facing something that is greater than we are. And that is exactly where God wants us! David in Psalm 6, starting with verse 1 (AMP) says, "Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer." God wants to connect with us and He will listen to our prayer. He will. Verse 2, "From the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and weak;" This is us, isn't it? This pandemic is something we are having trouble with because we are overwhelmed and weak. We can't handle this on our own. David goes on, and this is so important for us to pray. He says, "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I [a rock that is too high to reach without Your help]. And that is where God wants us. This is too great for us to handle. We need You, God. We can't handle this without Your help, God. This is too high to reach without Your help. Again, that is where God wants us. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Friday... God's Word is so amazing, it really is.  Look at what David says in Psalm 60. It's seems like he is speaking about us, about the day in which we are living. Verse 1 (NLT), "You have rejected us, O God, and broken our defenses." I mean, how did this virus attack us? We had no defense against it. It seems "You have been angry with us; now restore us to your favor." Yes, yes, please God. Verse 2, "You have shaken our land and split it open." That is so true. Our families, our churches, our cities, our States are split wide open. And this needs to be our prayer, "Seal the cracks, for the land trembles" We as individuals think we have the answers to how to bring our nation together. But do we? The politicians are telling us that they have the answers. But do they? Verse 5, "Now rescue your beloved people. Answer and save us by your power." He is the answer. And then verses 11 & 12, "Oh please help us against our en

Thursday... There was a word that caught my attention as I was reading Psalms 37:7 and again in verse 8. There are so many great words in this chapter, verse 3, "Trust", and "Delight", then verse 5, "Commit" but then comes this word. It is a word that we do too much in this time we are living in, it is the word, "fret." Here is what verses 7 & 8 (AMP), say, "Be still before the Lord; wait patiently for Him and entrust yourself to Him;" Yes, yes, "be still...wait patiently...  entrust yourself to Him" and then, "Do not fret (whine, agonize) because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicket schemes. Cease from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret; it leads only to evil. But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land." Did you wake up fretting today? Did you? For some it is so easy for them to whine, to agonize over others and over their wicked schemes. Why is it that I&#

Wednesday... How are your relationships going? Last night I watched the LA Dodgers win the World Series with my family. Margaret my wife was here with me, Brett my son was in Colorado and my daughter, Stefanie was in her home just down the street here is Las Vegas. But we watched it together, texting each other and then face timing after the game. That was so great! We were remembering where we were the last time the Dodgers had won the WS, we had just moved to Austin, Texas. We had a great relationship when we were together and now have after we have moved to different locations. And of course, it has been extended to others who have joined our family: Marissa, Andrew, Ashlyn, Addison, Harper, Penny and Charlie and Jesse who are great pets that have been added. Again, our relationships are going great. There are a lot of memories that help to hold us together. And David finds that also true in his relationship with God. He also finds there are expectations that come out of past experi

Tuesday... Where are you when I need you? I love the honesty of the Scriptures and the understanding of God. He knows us and he allows us to ask some human questions like where are you, God, when I need you? Maybe that is what you're asking today during this time of uncertainty. David over in Psalm 10:1 (MSG) asks, "God, are you avoiding me? Where are you when I need you?" Well, the truth is, maybe God is asking the same question of us. Psalm 14:2 (MSG), "God sticks his head out of heaven. He looks around. He's looking for someone not stupid-one man, even, God-expectant, just one God-ready woman." He's looking to see where we are when he needs us. The NLT says, "The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God." Verse 3 (MSG) says, "He comes up empty. A string of zeros. Useless, unshepherded Sheep, taking turns pretending to be Shepherd." And that is so true of many of us. But the

  Monday... Do you feel as David, the Psalmist feels as you face this new day, this new week? He says in Psalm 56:1 (MSG), "Take my side, God-I'm stomped on every day." Do you feel that way? Are you really down, are you really afraid? But David doesn't stop there. In verse 3 (NLT) he says, "But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?"  Maybe he remembers what he said in Psalm 6:8-10 (NLT), "Go away, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer. May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified. May they suddenly turn back in shame." Maybe he also remembers what he said in Psalm 23:4-5 (MSG), "Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I'm not afraid when you walk at my side. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with bl

  Sunday... Having someone to carry a heavy load for you can make such a difference. I remember the day I pulled our rental truck with all of our stuff, into the space beside the stairs that went up to the third story where our new home was. I knew there was no way I was going to unload it and carry it up to 3134. It just wasn't going to happen. I needed help.  I know some of you are feeling that same way with the heavy load you need to carry everyday. No way can you make it alone. It is just too heavy. Is that what you are feeling today? David over in Psalm 55:22 (MSG) knows what to do with that heavy load. He says, "Pile your troubles on God's shoulders-he'll carry your load, he'll help you out. He'll never let good people topple into ruin" I had hired three guys to come and unload the truck. After awhile they realized they weren't going to get it done in the allotted time, that it was going to take all day so they called three other guys to come and

Saturday... There is power in connecting to the right power source. We may be needing a tool to do a job for us. Let's say it is a power saw. We need to cut a big piece of wood. It has the ability to cut the wood but it cannot do it if it is not connected to electricity. It has power if it is connected to power. We have so much potential. It is amazing what we can do when we are connected to power. Maybe you are in such a situation right now and you need to connect to God. David in Psalm 54 (NLT) says, "Come with great power, O God, and rescue me! Defend me! Listen to my prayer, O God. Pay attention to my plea. For strangers are attacking me; trying to kill me. They care nothing for God." He needed something that was more powerful than he was to take care of this situation he was facing so he connected to God, he prayed to God. Yes, you and I have the potential for power if we connect to power. God is close to you and he wants to work in and through you. He has created yo

  Friday... Oh God, how blessed we are.  Psalm 128:1 (MSG) reminds us, "All you who fear God, how blessed you are." And we need to be reminded, we really do. The Presidential debate was on last night and they for the most part were not telling us how blessed we are. But you do, God, in your Word. We are so blessed, even in an election year, even during a pandemic. May we stop and really see that we are blessed. And that leads us to the next part, "how happily you walk on his smooth straight road!" Over in Proverbs 3:5 (NIV) it says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." It is so great to have a smooth straight road. Just put your hand in his. Then back to Psalm 128:2 (MSG), "You worked hard and deserve all you've got coming. Enjoy the blessing! Revel in the goodness!" Work is a blessing, it really is. God wants to bless our work and

Thursday... In his hiding in caves and running from Saul, David was being used by God. In all of this time of getting away from Saul, he wasn't wasting the experience, he was writing the Psalms and learning and growing and preparing.   So how is God using this pandemic in our lives? What is he building in us and developing in us? God does that.  David was in a tough spot when he wrote Psalm 52, "Why do you boast about your crimes, great warrior? Don't you realize God's justice continues forever? All day long you plot destruction. Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor; you're an expert at telling lies. You love evil more than good and lies more than truth." He didn't learn that in a peaceful experience back home, away from the evil of life. He learned it during his running and hiding and he then shared it with us. He says in verses 6 & 7, "The righteous will see it and be amazed. They will laugh and say, 'Look what happens to mighty warriors who

Wednesday... No matter what you are going through, what you are facing, God is with you, he is beside you, and he can be inside of you. Psalm 121:3-5 (NLT), "He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The Lord himself watches over you!"  He has an angel personally looking over you but he himself is personally also there. You are not alone. He doesn't even sleep. He is wide awake.  I know it seems like we are going through all these hardships alone and that makes them even more difficult. But we are not alone.  Now for those who have asked him into their heart, then he is inside you. He is working from the inside out and that is so important. Inside is where fear comes from, inside is where worry comes from, inside is where self-pity, anxiety, and discouragement come from.  If you have opened the door of your heart and asked him to come in he is there, ready to take care of you. A

Tuesday... It can be so easy for us to say something is God's will because it makes sense, but is it? 1 Samuel 24 tells of how King Saul was looking for David to kill him and he happened to go into a cave for a moment but he didn't know that David and his men were in the cave. Verse 4 (NLT) says, "'Now's your opportunity!' David's men whispered to him. 'Today the Lord is telling you, '"I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do as you wish.'" So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul's robe." Verses 5-7, "But then David's conscience began bothering him" We must be sensitive to the different ways that God speaks to us. Yes he speaks through others but he also speaks to us through our conscience, through a still small voice. "He said to his men, 'The Lord forbid that I shouldn't attack the Lord's anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.' So David restra

  Monday... What do you do, when you don't know what to do? Good question. Over in 1 Samuel 23, David who was running away from Saul who was chasing him trying to kill him had four situations when he didn't know what to do. Verse 2 (NLT), "David asked the Lord, 'Should I go and attack them?' 'Yes, go and save Keilah,' the Lord told him." Verse 4, "So David asked the Lord again, and again the Lord replied, 'Go down to Keilah, for I will help you conquer the Philistines." God was patient with him even when he asked him again. And he will be with us too. Verse 10, "Then David prayed... 'O Lord God of Israel, please tell me.' And the Lord said, 'He will come.'" Verse 12, "Again David asked... and the Lord replied." Over in Psalm 131 David says, "Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don't concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. Instead. I have calmed

Sunday... The writer of Psalm 120 knows what we are going through in these days that we are living in. He says in verses 6 & 7 (NLT), "I am tired of living among people who hate peace. I search of peace; but when I speak of peace, they want war."  In verse 2 he prays, "Rescue me, O Lord, from liars and from all deceitful people." It is amazing who we turn to for the answers to our life situations instead of God. And we wonder why life is a mess. At the beginning of this prayer in verse 1 he says, "I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer." That's where we go, that's who we turn to, he has the answer because he is the answer."  So let's remember that as we face this new day. Psalm 48:9 says, "O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple" and then verse 14, "He is our God forever and ever, and he will guide us until we die."  My trust is in the one who rea

  Saturday... Here it is, a new day with new opportunities and possibly new fears or at least old ones carried over to today.   David in the OT of the Bible, the David who killed the giant Goliath, went through a period of time when he was being chased by King Saul who was trying to kill him. That can make each new morning filled with fears, can't it? Kind of like our being chased by a powerful virus. Now during these times, David wrote many Psalms. In Psalm 56:1&2 (NLT) he says, "O God have mercy on me, for people are hounding me. My foes attack me all day long. I am constantly hounded by those who slander me and many are boldly attacking me." He just let it out. Maybe that would be a good thing for us to do. Just let God know what is hounding us, constantly hounding us, what is attacking us.  He goes on in verses 3&4, "But when I am afraid," Okay, okay, are you afraid? This is one of the great heroes of the Bible. He killed an over 9 feet tall giant wi

Friday... Have you found this to be true? You must go through times of trouble to find this to be true.  Psalm 46:1 (NLT) says, "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble." If you know that to be true then you have something to hold on to in these days that we are going through. Just thinking of that fact takes me back to different times that I can remember when I was up against a wall, not knowing what to do, facing situations that I couldn't handle but I knew God was there, I knew he was my strength, that he was my refuge.  The Psamist goes on, verse 2 "So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea." Our world has really been shaken, hasn't it? And here is our confidence, here is our faith, here is where our experiencing other times of trouble comes through, here is where our remembering that God is our refuge, God is our strength brings us through. He then says in confidence, verse 3, "

  Thursday... God knows us and he knows what we need, he really does. In 1 Samuel in the OT of the Bible the story is told of Saul the first king of Israel and of his turning away from God of how God chose a new king, David and God's blessings on him. Now Saul was still king and he saw all this happening and he decided to try to kill David. These were very difficult times for David. Now through this time David and Jonathan, who was the son of Saul, became very good friends. God knew what David needed, he needed a very good friend. And that is also true of us in this time we are going through. One of the important benefits of a relationship with God is this matter of fellowship. Someone said that fellowship is two fellows in a ship. God knows we need to have someone with us through our difficulties in life. Of course, God is always with us but he created us with this need for a human who is with us. Through this time we have been going through I'm sure you have felt at times rea

Wednesday... Each day has it's challenges, they really do. Over in 1 Samuel 17:4 (MSG), it says, "A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line." Maybe what you are facing today seems bigger than anything you have ever faced. Verse 24 says, "The Israelites, to a man, fell back the moment they saw the giant-totally frightened." Is that what you are feeling today? The Psalmist in 44:23-26 says, "Get up God! are you going to sleep all day?" Are you feeling that today? Do you have a giant in your life that you facing? He goes on, "Wake up! Don't you care what happens to us? Why do you bury your face in the pillow? Why pretend things are just fine with us? And here we are-flat on our faces in the dirt, held down with a boot on our necks." And then he says from desperation what maybe you are saying with today's challenges facing you. He says to God, what you need to say, he says, "Get up and come to our rescue. If y

  Tuesday... It is so easy to get frustrated with people and their inconsistencies and turn our back on them when they really need us. But Samuel in the OT of the Bible shows how to deal with them.  1 Samuel 12:20-22 (MSG) says, "Don't be fearful. It's true that you have done something very wrong. All the same, don't turn your back on God. Worship and serve him heart and soul!" He's encouraging them. "Don't chase after ghost-gods. There's nothing to them. They can't help you. They're nothing but ghost-gods!" And there are so many things that people turn to that they believe will make a difference.  But Samuel says something that we need to remember, "God, simply because of who he is, is not going to walk off and leave his people. God took delight in making you into his very own people." But it really frustrates us, doesn't it? We want to walk out on them, don't we? So, we turn our backs on them. Verses 23-25, Samuel

Monday... So, how are you doing as you face this new day, this new week? Are you discouraged? Are you in the dumps? The writer of Psalm 42 asks a good question for us in verses 5 & 11 (MSG), "Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues?" You might say, "Well this is Monday. I have to go back to work. I had such a good time this weekend. That is how I am suppose to feel on Monday." And that may be true for some of you. Others might say, "I am getting so tired of this virus thing. I have to be so careful. I am really tired about wearing this mask. And I didn't get to go to church to see all my friends. When is this going to be over?" That may be why you are so down in the dumbs. Yes there may be many reasons why this is true. but the Psalmist has an answer. It is all in our focus. He says the same thing in both verses, 5 & 11, to emphasize what he said he must do and what we must do. It is even the last thing he says. A

  Sunday... Let's do it! Yes, let's do it. It will make all the difference in how we face this new day. The Psalmist in the OT of the Bible says in Psalm 113 starting in verse 1 (MSG), "Hallelujah! You who serve God, praise God! Just to speak his name is praise! Just to remember God is a blessing-now and tomorrow and always. From east to west, from dawn to dusk, keep lifting all your praises to God!" He goes on in verse 4, "God is higher than anything and anyone, outshining everything you can see in the skies. Who can compare with God, our God, so majestically enthroned, surveying his magnificent heavens and earth? He picks up the poor from out of the dirt, rescues the wretched who've been thrown out with the trash, seats them among the honored guests, a place of honor among the brightest and best. He gives childless couples a family, give them joy as the parents of children. Hallelujah!" So let's do it. Let's give him praise! Yes, yes, yes! #tod

Saturday... There can be comfort in remembering. We don't want to stay there but we can be strengthened in remembering how God worked in our lives in the past. David writes in Psalm 40:1 (GNB), "I waited patiently for the Lord's help;" Whatever he was going through at the time he was writing this Psalm he needed to remember how he handled other times of difficulty. He said, "I waited patiently." He goes on, "then he listened to me. He pulled me out of a dangerous pit, out of deadly quicksand." Can you remember when God came and helped you through a difficult time? Also, it helps to read other people's stories. That's why it is good to read the Psalms. Verse 2, "He set me safely on a rock." I've never been in quicksand but I can visualize the fear and anxiety and then feeling the exhilaration of being pulled out and placed on a rock. Can you feel the emotion of that? I know that down in the quicksand I would be singing a differ

  Friday... People can be so cruel but God is so good. This comes out in the book of 1 Samuel in the OT of the Bible. In chapter 1 verse 2 (NLT) it says, "Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not." At first sight it is so easy to say that it is God who is being cruel. Why would he allow this to happen?  Verses 6&7 says, "So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children. Year after year it was the same-Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat."  And then the man steps in as we so many times do. Verse 8, "'Why aren't you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me-isn't that better than having ten sons?" Way to go, Elkanah. But he just didn't get it. And we do the same so many times.  In trying to help we just say the wrong thin

  Thursday... We need to pray each morning for God to open our eyes to see, to really see. Over in the OT book of Ruth it tells of this man with his wife and their two sons who went to Moab to live because of a famine where they were living. In their time there he died. The two sons married and they too died. Such tragedy for Naomi, the wife and mother. Now things were better back home so she decided to go back and the two daughters-in-law wanted to go with her but she convinced one to stay and she did but the other one, Ruth wouldn't hear of it and she went with her. All that had happened to Naomi was tragic, it really was. She lost her husband and her two sons. Life can be cruel sometimes, can't it? Ruth 1:19 (NLT) says, "So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. 'Is it really Naomi? the women asked.'" Verses 20-21, "'Don't call me Naomi.' she responded. 'Ins

Wednesday... Stumbling can be embarrassing and can hurt.  I love to walk. I try to have a concentrated walk each day for my health. Now the choice of the path has a lot to do with if I stumble. I don't like to stumble so I usually find a path that is smooth to do my walking but sometimes I like to venture out and do some hiking. I have a walking stick for hiking but there is always the chance that I will stumble when the trail is a little more challenging. Usually the hiking is done in the mountains and there is the distraction of the beauty all around but you still have to be careful. We went up as a family this past Sunday after church to our mountains and went for a hike. As an old-timer I have to be careful but also as a youngster such as our two young granddaughters you have to also be careful. They have so much energy and it can be easy for them to stumble because they aren't really being careful but if they stumble there is no way that I yell at them, no I pick them up a

Tuesday... I wonder what God is going to do through us and for us today. I wonder! Back in the book of Joshua in the OT, it tells of Joshua who was the leader of the People of Israel who were headed to what God said was the Promised Land. They were coming from Egypt and they had wandered through a wilderness for 40 years because of their not following God's plan for them. But now they were about to cross the Jordan River which was an impossible task because the water was flowing over its banks but Joshua said to them in Joshua 2:5 (NLT), "Purify yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."  Now could that be what God is wanting to say to us in this difficult task of living through a pandemic? Could this be a great opportunity to show that being a Christ follower is the only way to go through a pandemic?  David in Psalm 36:1 (NLT) says, "Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all." Joshua 4:23-24 (MSG) sa

  Monday... God hears everything we say but that may not always be a good thing. Numbers 11:1 (NLT) says, "Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said." And then it said, "Then the Lord's anger blazed against them." I love being a parent and I love being a grandparent but dealing with immaturity has its frustrations and I know that can be true with our heavenly Father. He knows what is best for us and he gives us more than we deserve but we still complain.  Here the children of Israel were complaining about the food that God was giving them. They wanted more variety. He was supplying their needs but they wanted him to supply their wants. We think we know best but he is the one who really does. They were tired of the manna, they wanted meat. Verses 31 (NLT), "Now the Lord sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp." He gave them more than enough. It was an unbelie

Sunday... Have you come up with a way to live your life, something that shows you the way through the difficulties of life? I am reading in my mornings in the book of Numbers. It is one of the first five book in the Bible and it was written by Moses. It tells of a group of people and their travels though their life. Right now I am reading about 12 different tribes who are headed to a place none of them have been to and they have no maps, they have no roads but they are striving to follow God and his plan but they also don't have a Bible. Their leader Moses is writing his part in the Bible, the first five books but God is still leading them if they follow him. Now each of these 12 tribes had a leader and each of those leaders followed one leader who was in direct contact with God. There would have been no way they could have made it to where God wanted them to go if they didn't follow this plan and that is why it took so long for them to make it because they at different times s

  Saturday... We put our hope is so many different things, we really do.  We put our hope in a good weekend. We work so hard and we hope this weekend will bring fun and relaxation. We hope it will be just what we've needed. We as Christians have put our hope into getting back into church but this weekend looks like for many, church is something we will see on tv. We hope for our church to be opened. We put our hope in science and finding a cure for this pandemic. Oh it looks like we are getting closer to a vaccine but will it really take care of this virus? We hope so. We put our hope in the government. The election will be here in a little over a month but will it really make all the difference in our life? Will it? We hope so. And then David in Psalm 33:20-21 (NLT) says what we need to hear. He says, "We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name." And then David brings it all together in verse 22, &

  Friday... Do you have a heavy heart today? Do you? Do you know where it comes from? Psalm 32:4 (NLT) says, "My strength evaporated like water in the summer heart."  Psalm 32:1-2 says, "Oh what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!" Have you asked him to forgive you of that act of disobedience that is weighing you down? Have you confessed it to him? Have you? Verses 3-4, "When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat." Is that you? Do you know someone like that? Now here is the good news, verse 5 says, "Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, 'I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.' And you forgave me

Thursday... Maybe you need to pray this prayer of David today. Maybe you sense that you need God's protection today. There is so much happening around you. Psalm 31:1-5 (NLT) says, "O Lord, I have come to you for protection;" This is a great place to come. "don't let me be disgraced." Is that what you are feeling? "Save me," That is right to the point. "for you do what is right." Yes he does. That is why we come to him.  You then ask, "Turn your ear to listen to me; Rescue me quickly. Be my rock of protection, a fortress where I will feel safe" He wants us to ask. And he wants us to feel protected and safe. Is that what you need today. Just ask him. David goes on and emphasizes who he is talking to. This gives him confidence, this builds his faith "You are my rock and my fortress." Yes you are, God! Yes, you are! He then says, "For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger." Is that what you need to