Todays Beginning

Monday... I love how the Bible puts into words what we feel. I'm sure you would ask God this morning to please satisfy us. That may sound selfish but that is what the psalmist says and prays in Psalm 90:13-17 (NLT)  Here is what it says (vs. 13 & 14), "O Lord, come back to us! How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants! Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives." Is that what you feel this morning? The MESSAGE paraphrase says, "Surprise us with love at daybreak." He goes on (vs. 15-16 MSG), "Make up for bad times with good times; we've seen enough evil to last a lifetime." Here, I really like this, "Let your servants see what you do best-the ways you rule and bless your children." And we really do need to pray verse 17 (NLT), "And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes make our efforts successful" The New International Rea...

Sunday... There are so many things that we say we will do but what if we really did this? Psalm 89:1 (NIRV), "Lord, I will sing about your love forever. For all time to come, I will tell how faithful you are. I will tell everyone that your love stands firm forever. I will tell them that you are always faithful, even in heaven itself." And this is a great time to tell it. Oh, I know, there is so much that is happening that doesn't seem to show He loves us but He does. Look for it in each day. See the good He is doing in your life. Even the difficulties that are happening must go through His love and turned into good. He will never allow anything to happen to those who follow Him that doesn't first go though His love. Now the Psalmist continues, verses 3 & 4 (NLT) says, "The Lord says, 'I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant. I have sword this oath to him: '"I will establish your descendants as kings forever, they will sit on your thr...

Saturday... It is so good to see how others have handled difficult times in their lives. And here is a prayer  by someone who was in deep trouble. King Hezekiah in Isaiah 37:17 (NLT) prayed, "Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib's words of defiance against the living God."  Sennacherib was the King of Assyria and he was coming to destroy Judah and he sent a letter to Hezekiah who was the king of Judah and in verse 10 he said, "Do not let the god you depend on deceive you." Do you have people when you are going through difficult times put you down and ridicule you and they tell you, you're waisting your time believing in God? They not only put you down but also God. They say you are being deceived. And maybe it starts to get to you and it damages your faith. The evil one is great at put downs especially at your faith in God. He knows how effective it can be, especially during difficult times. But Hezekiah went ...

Friday... Maybe this is what you are feeling this morning. Maybe this is what you too need to ask God to do... Isaiah 33:2-4 (MSG), "God, treat us kindly." Maybe there is a let down after a day of celebration and you feel like a little kindness would go a long way. Please, God, treat us kindly. Isaiah goes on, "You're our only hope. First thing in the morning, be there for us! When things go bad, help us out!" The NIV says, "Be our strength every morning." The NLT says, "But Lord, be merciful to us, for we have waited for you. Be our strong arm each day and our salvation in times of trouble." Isaiah 35:3&4 (MSG) says, "Energize the limp hands, strengthen the rubbery knees. Tell fearful souls, 'Courage! Take heart! God is here, right here, on his way to put things right and redress all wrongs. He's on his way! He'll save you."  And here is my assignment this morning. The AMP says, "Encourage the exhausted and mak...

Thursday... Ask and he will respond. You know that, don't you?  I will just about do anything for each member of my family if they ask. And that is also true, even more so with God. The Psalmist started Psalm 86 with these words (NLT), "Bend down, O Lord , and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help." Thank you so much God for allowing me to just ask you for help. Thank you for being a God who will come down from your level to my level and  and who will be interested in my concerns, my difficulties.  Maybe this is what you need. Verse 2, "Protect me, for  I am devoted to you. Save me, for I serve you and trust you." Now that is very important, the fact that I am devoted to him that I serve him and I trust him. And this is the key, "You are my God." He goes on, Verses 3 & 5, "Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly. Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to you. O Lord, you are so good , so ready to forgive, ...

Wednesday... Look at this. It is so important to see... Isaiah 25 says (Amp) , "O Lord; I will exalt and  give thanks to your name." Yes, exalting the Lord, lifting him to his rightful place in our lives is so very important and needed in order for us to live our life to the level God has created us to live. But then there is the and, and in the Amplified Bible it is in italics. "O Lord, I will exalt and give thanks to your name," This time of celebration of thanksgiving is not something we just do on one day of the year. It is to be done everyday. It is to be something that gives focus and confidence and meaning to our life. He goes on, "For you have done miraculous things, plans formed" another italics "plans formed  long, long ago [fulfilled] with perfect faithfulness."  That is what giving thanks does, it give focus to what has been done which gives confidence for what is ahead. The NLT says, "You do such wonderful things! You planned t...

Tuesday... There are things in life that bring us real pleasure. One of them to me is the sunrise. The sun tells us it's a new day, with new potential, new possibilities, new adventures and new joy. And Psalm 84:11 (NIRV) says "The Lord God is like the sun that gives us light." He is the light that breaks through the darkness of the night and opens up to us the possibilities of new day.  The Psalmist goes on, 11b, "He is like a shield that keeps us safe. The Lord blesses us with favor and honor. He doesn't hold back anything good from those whose lives are without blame." The MESSAGE paraphrase says, "He doesn't scrimp with his traveling companions." The NLT, "The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right."  The sun each day opens up the gifts of favor, honor, grace and good things to those who follow God. It is like Christmas morning each day.  And Verse 12 says, "O Lord of Heaven's Armies, what joy fo...

  Monday... Then at last can be words of encouragement for a parent. They've worked with their kids, striving to get them to perfect a certain concept and then at last. Even a teacher with a student or a boss with a worker, then at last. I had a voice teacher who was striving to teach me a certain concept and I remember after he has said the same thing in many different ways I finally I got it, then at last I understood. I'm not sure if we are in one of those moments of time. Isaiah said in chapter 17 verse 7 (NLT), "Then at last the people will look to their Creator and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. They will no longer look to their idols for help or worship what their own hands have made. They will never again bow down to their Asherah poles or worship at the pagan shrines they have built."  Maybe we are in a time of, then at last. Maybe we will turn to our Creator. Maybe we will learn who our Creator really is and that he has a plan for our day and for...

Sunday...  Do you feel as you wake up this morning, that everything is falling apart? I'm sure a lot of people would agree with you. The psalmist writer of Psalm 82 seems to feel the same way.    Psalm 82:5b (MSG) says, "And now everything's falling apart, the worlds coming unglued." As you view it from one perspective that may be a true assessment, but is it really true? Now I don't know what you are going through, I don't. Life is really rough for so many of you. It is hard to understand what is happening, isn't it? Have you ever looked at the back side of a needlepoint picture? It is a mess. Have you ever gone into a room that is being painted? It is a mess! Have you ever looked at a fun loving child who has just been out playing in a mud puddle? They are a mess. But if you turn the needlepoint over to the front you see the finished product of an artist.  If you come back after the painter has finished painting and the decorator has put pictures up and ...

  Saturday... Oh, if we would just listen.  Did you ever have your parents say to you, have you ever said to your kids, oh if you would have just listened to me this wouldn't have happened? You had done something wrong and now the hand of justice is about to come on you, oh if you would have just listened.  God through the psalmist Asaph said in Psalm 81:8 (NLT), "Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen!" And then verses 11-13, "But no, my people wouldn't listen. Israel did not want me around. So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, living according to their own ideas. Oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my path!" He goes on, verses 14-15, "How quickly I would then subdue their enemies! How soon my hands would be upon their foes! Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him; they would be doomed forever."  Then verse 16 (MSG), "You...

Friday...  God really knows what is happening and is going to happen. And He knows what we need. He really does. Look at what Isaiah said back 600 years before it happened. He says in Isaiah 9:6 (NLT), "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  Now who do you think he is talking about? Who do you think as he looks into the future he is talking about?  He's talking about Jesus, God's Son who came to this earth to bring light to a darkened world, even our world. In verse 2 (Amp) he says, "The people who walk in [spiritual] darkness will see a great Light; those who live in the dark land, the Light will shine on them." Jesus is that Light and he is available to us today. I woke up a little earlier this morning to read and write and when I came in to the front of our home I turned on a light. There is a switch on the wa...

Thursday... So let's not think like everyone else does. Isaiah 8:11-14 (NLT) says just that. It says, "The Lord has given me a warning not to think like everyone else does. He said, 'Don't call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don't live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heaven's Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe" Now that is right to the point, that is very clear. He also says in 7:9b (NIV), "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." It is so easy for us to put our faith is so many other things. What are you putting your faith in? Do you call everything a conspiracy, do you live in dread of what you hear on TV? Do you live in fear? He says in verses 20-22 (NLT), "Look to God's instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark. They will go from one to another, wea...

Wednesday... In reading the Bible this morning in Isaiah in the OT, this word of encouragement for you and me stepped out to me. Isaiah 3:10 (NIV), "Tell the righteous" He qualifies first of all who this is too. Is that you? Have you given your life over to God? Are you living for him? Is he giving you the desire and the will to live a righteous life? So this is for you. He says, "Tell the righteous it will be well for them." Now that is good news. That is encouraging. The New Living Translation says, "Tell the godly that all will be well for them." The MESSAGE paraphrase says, "Reassure the righteous that their good living will pay off."  Are you about to quit? Is this pandemic getting your down? Well, be reassured that your good living is going to pay off. The NIV says "for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds." The NLT, "They will enjoy the rich rewards they have earned." He goes on, verse 11 (NLT), "But the wicked...

  Tuesday... This morning in my reading the last three chapters of Nehemiah, I came across a parenthesis phrase that jumped out at me. It is a, by the way phrase, that we need to see today in the midst of this pandemic. Nehemiah 13:2, (NIV) says "(Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.)" It was shared as if we all knew that. By the way you know, don't you? that God turns curses into blessings. You see, God is in the turning around business. He really is. Psalm 126 comes from a little different perspective but it also shows that God is in the turning around business. Verses 4-6 (NLT) says, "Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as the return from the harvest." He's in the turning around business. And then Psalm 77:10-12 (NLT) says, "And I said, 'This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me...

Monday... I am reading in the book of Nehemiah and I found this morning in chapter 9, a great place to start a new day and a new work week. It is good to be reminded of times past and of who God is and what he has done. Now verses 16-18 (MSG) reminds us of who we are and how we have acted and maybe are acting today. It says, "But they, our ancestors. were arrogant; bullheaded, they wouldn't obey your commands. They turned a deaf ear, they refused to remember the miracles you had done for them; They turned stubborn, got it into their heads to return to their Egyptian slavery."   And that can be said of us, can't it? We too are stubborn and arrogant and we have turned a deaf ear to God and his Word. Also our worries and our fears shows how we are refusing to remember the miracles that God has done for us. And we too are going back to our slavery of worry and despair.  He goes on and shows who God is and how he responds, "But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious a...

Sunday... Today is a day to recharge our batteries for the week ahead. And Psalm 75:1 (MSG) tells us how to do it. It says, "We thank you, God, we thank you-your Name is our favorite word; your mighty works are all we talk about." Now that is a way to recharge. We remember what God has done and then thank him. We think back and bring to mind the mighty works that he has done in our week, and we thank him and that remembering by thanking him recharges our mental, our emotional, and our spiritual batteries. When we really focus on what he has done it changes our view of our life. Oh it is so easy to think about all the problems and difficulties. They are right there out in front but God works in the behind and we need to get past our problems to see his work. Remembering and thanking him will bring a new perspective to our past week and a new hope for next week.  Verse 9 (NLT) says, "But as for me, I will always proclaim what God has done; I will sing praises to the God of...

Saturday... God honors those who work hard. He really does. There is a statement that caught my attention as I was reading Nehemiah 3 this morning. In verse 5 (MSG) it says, "except for their nobles, who wouldn't work with their master and refused to get their hands dirty with such work." I wonder why that was put in the Bible? The book of Nehemiah is about the building of the wall of Jerusalem that had been torn down and of the people who set out to repair it. And it mentions sections of the wall and who the individuals were doing the work. They were mentioned by name. God wanted us to know about these people who were hard workers. They even were having to be on guard because there were people who didn't want the wall to be repaired. Verse 3 is an example, "The Fish Gate was built by the Hassenaah brothers; they repaired it, hung its doors, and installed its bolts and bars." God thought that was important for us to know. Now this whole chapter goes over and...

Friday... In this day that we are living in it is so very hard for us to understand what is happening around us, isn't it?  Asaph, the writer of Psalm 73 was also having trouble understanding something that was happening around him. He said in verses 11-14 (MSG), "What's going on here? Is God out to lunch? Nobody's tending the store. The wicked get by with everything; they have it made, piling up the riches. I've been stupid to play by the rules; what has it gotten me? A long run of bad luck that's what-a slap in the face every time I walk out the door." And sounds like us too many times doesn't it? Just be honest, maybe that is what you are saying on Facebook today, if not at least you're thinking it. The NLT says verse 13 and 14 this way, "Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain." Is that what you are thinking this morning? He th...

Thursday... Sometimes being ashamed is a good thing, it causes us to do a good thing. Ezra was a prophet in the OT of the Bible and in Ezra 8:21 (NLT) he said, "I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children and our goods as we traveled." That is a very good thing. God wants us to ask him, he wants us to to depend on him to keep us safe, and to protect us. He wants us to come to him and each day ask him to keep us safe and for us to depend on him to do it. Yes he does. He goes on, verse 22 says, "I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way." Now to ask for help is a good thing so why was he ashamed? He goes on, "After all, we had told the king, 'Our God's hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger ranges against those who abandon him '" Verse 23, "So ...

Wednesday... I just opened the blinds on our windows and the light is coming in and taking care of the darkness of the night. A new day is beginning! But what about the darkness of despair and discouragement that we may face in this new day? Is there a blind that we can open to give us hope?  I found this as I opened my Bible this morning. Psalm 71:5&6 (NLT) says, "O Lord, you alone are my hope. I've trusted you since childhood. Yes you've been with me from birth; from my mother's womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you." The MESSAGE Paraphrase puts it this way, "You keep me going when times are tough." And that is a great way to bring light into our darkness.  That is why I start my day in the Bible. It reminds me of who I turn to when I'm in despair and that he has never failed me. Look at Verses 1-3 (MSG), "I run for dear life to God. I'll never live to regret it. Do what you do so well: get me out of this mess ...

Tuesday... We get things really mixed up. We have these beliefs that seem to be true but if is is not based on the Bible it may not be necessarily true. One of these is the belief that if I am a Christian, then life must fair, but is that true? Solomon in his honesty writes in Ecclesiastes 9:1&2 (NLT), "This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God's hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor. The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremoniously clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don't." He later says in verse 11, "I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry and the skillful are not necessaril...

Monday... I know, I know, today is Monday and it is off to work we go but this thought came up in my reading of Ecclesiastes this morning. So let's have a moment of fun. Ecclesiastes 8:15 says, (NLT), "So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun." I've heard it said that even in a hard day of working one needs to take a moment and take a break to rejuvenate. To put some happiness into their life. It doesn't need to be long but it does need to be there in your day.  I know during this time of election and this time of pandemic there needs to be some time built into it to have some fun. This has been a difficult time but we still need to stop and experience some happiness. Each day needs it, each week needs it, each season, each year.   Some have said that they don't have time for a vac...

Saturday... As some look back on this what they would call a very meaningful week they are wondering after giving great amounts of time, effort and money, they may be wondering, was it really worth it?  Solomon who was the son of King David in the Bible and who also became the King in Jerusalem after looking back on his wealth, his wisdom, his hard work, his accomplishments came to a conclusion and he wrote a book in the OT called Ecclesiastes. He started it by saying in 1:2 (NLT) "Everything is meaningless... completely meaningless." What? After living your life, becoming the wealthiest person at the time, the wisest man who ever lived, having everything you thought you wanted you came to the conclusion that all of it was meaningless? Now here is the key, if we are doing all that we do for the wrong reasons, with the wrong purpose and for the wrong person, then it is meaningless. Someone said that the great frustration in life is to find after climbing the ladder of success ...

  Friday... A good question to ask as we go through these uncertain times is, whose is this, anyway? We act like all of this is ours and we know what is best for us. But, whose is this, anyway? Psalm 24:1 (NLT) answers this clearly, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. The world and all its people."  And this is the way we must view what we are going through.  I like what David said in Psalm 31:21-24 (NIV) and we need to see and say the same thing in this time and this place we are living in. He said, "Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege. In my alarm I said, 'I am cut off from your sight!' Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help." He goes on, "Love the Lord, all his faithful people! The Lord preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord." Verse 23 in the NLT says, "Lo...

Thursday... Is anybody listening? We all make so many excuses don't we? We want to listen but it is difficult sometimes with so much going on all around us. I mean, what they are saying on the TV is very important. Or, I have to finish my work. But you are talking all the time. Is anybody listening? We even say like David it Psalm 4:1 (NLT), "Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent. Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer." And we wonder, is God listening? I caught this as I was reading this morning in Psalm 4 verse 3 (MSG), "Look at this: look who got picked by God! He listens the split second I call to him." Wow, he does? Is that true. He really does care, doesn't he? He listens to me! He not only listens but he answers. Psalm 65:5 (NLT) says, "You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior."  Back in 2 Samuel 22:26-30, David also said, "To the faithful you show yourself fait...

Wednesday... Now we wake up to a new day and we respond to what has happened.  Some wake up like the writer of Psalm 64 (MSG), "Listen and help, O God. I'm reduced to a whine and a whimper, obsessed with feelings of doomsday." Yes, yes, we don't know who our President is but doomsday? I think God is still in control.  It is so easy to see situations around us and go to pieces. Be overly dramatic at what is happening around us. Yes, yes, there could be change, things are different everyday but does that cause us to be in such despair. There's a story over in 2 Samuel where Absalom, David's son wanted to be king so he came to kill his father but in the battle Absalom was killed. 2 Samuel 19:4 (NLT) says, "The king covered his face with his hands and kept on crying, 'O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!'" Verses 5-8, "Then Joab went to the king's room and said to him, 'We saved your life today and the lives of your sons, you...

Tuesday... It really is amazing what I can see up here.   We live on the third floor of an apartment complex up close to the Spring Mountains here in Las Vegas. I am out on one of our balconies looking down on a road and the cars moving on that road. I have a great perspective. I can see what is ahead of them, what is behind them, what is to their right and to their left. This perspective is so much better than if I was in a car and driving on that road. Psalms 33:13-14 (NLT) says, "The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race." He is up a little hight than I am so he can see more. "From his throne he observes all who live on the earth." He is a whole lot higher than I am. Verses 18-19 (MSG), "Watch this: God's eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love." Now he can see everyone but he pays close attention to (NLT) "those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love".  Back to the MESSAGE, ...

  Monday... How did you sleep last night? So much is happening all around us that could keep us awake. So how did you sleep last night? David lived it seem though difficulty after difficulty. Some were his fault as much of what keeps us awake is our fault. But David would write a Psalm to let us know how God was helping him through a particular difficulty. Psalms 3 is such a Psalm. It seems he wrote this Psalm about the tine he was fleeing from his son Absalom. You can read the story beginning in 2 Samuel 14.  He starts this Psalm by saying, "O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me. So many are saying, 'God will never rescue him!'" Now that would keep me awake.  He goes on, verse 3, "But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high." Now that's a way to counteract the negative thoughts coming into our brain. He the says, "I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain."...

Sunday... Have you ever blow a situation, you did something wrong and it haunts you day and night? David over in 2 Samual 11 sinned. He slept with a married woman and he then had her husband killed when she became pregnant. That is really blowing it. And then 12:1 (AMP) says, "And the Lord sent Nathan [the prophet] to David." God has a way of letting us know, He knows. David writes Psalm 51 after Nathan confronted him.  Verses 1-4 (NLT) says, "Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great passion, blot out the stains of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you and you alone have I sinned."  That is so true. He goes on in verse 7 says, "Purify from my sins and I will be clean, wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me-now let me rejoice. Don't keep looking at my sins. Create in me a clean hea...