Wednesday... We love to pat ourselves on the back . . .

Wednesday... We love to pat ourselves on the back, don't we?

David here in Psalm 40:1 (NLT) did that. He said, "I waited patiently for the Lord." And we do that too, don't we? Oh, this past year has been tough but I waited patiently, I was so patient, I am so patient. And that is a good thing. Patience is a good thing but having eyes to see is a better thing.

Here is what I mean. Maybe in our patience we have missed seeing God working in our lives. Maybe God has been patient with us. Maybe He has been working through all that has happened but we haven't been looking to see what He has been doing.

Look back on this year. Can you see how God has been working in you? Maybe you have grown in areas in which you needed to grow. Maybe your faith is stronger. Maybe your patience is greater. Maybe your way of looking at life is different. Maybe God has been patient with you in acknowledging your dependence on Him. Maybe you have learned to see the good that has happened through the bad. Or maybe you haven't grown, you haven't looked at what God has done and you now see that He has really been patient with you.

Oh God, may we see You in all that we are going through. May we see how you are working. May we see your hand in all of this and may we be grateful for all that You have done and are doing in our lives. Thank you so much for Your patience with us. You have been and are being and will alway be so very good to us and patient with us.

Oh and here is how the verse ended. "and he turned to me and heard my cry." Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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Tuesday... I wonder what would happen if we didn't take the credit?

Nehemiah 6:16b (NLT), "They realized this work had been done with the help of our God." Tuesday... I wonder what would happen if we didn't take the credit? Over in the Old Testament in the book of Nehemiah it tells of a major task that through the leadership of Nehemiah was accomplished. The walls of Jerusalem had been torn down and God had laid it on Nehemiah to build those walls back up. It was definitely an almost impossible task but Nehemiah 6:15-16 says, "So on October 2 the wall was finished - just fifty-two days after we had begun. When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God." Now, we so many times want to take credit for doing the impossible. It would make such a difference for us. But I wonder what would happen through us if God got the credit? Psalm 96 tells us what we are to do. Verses 2-3 says, "Sing to the LORD; praise his name. ...

Tuesday... We just have trouble listening.

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Thursday... Yet, now this is true.

Colossians 1:22a (NLT), "Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body." Thursday... Yet, now this is true. Now Paul a prisoner in Rome is writing a letter to a church in Colossae. And in Colossians 1:21 (MSG) he says, "Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds" The NLT says "This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated by your evil thoughts and actions." And that is where so many in this world live today. They are blowing it and they don't know what to do. Yes, they are hostile in their minds and they are engaging in evil deeds but there is Good News. Now Paul in verses 19-20 sets the stage for an answer to those who don't want to live that way. He says, "For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and earth b...

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