Tuesday... Could this be true of us? Could it?

Psalm 66:9 (NIRV), "He has kept us alive. He has kept our feet from slipping" There were times when we weren't sure if we were going to make it, but here we are.

Verse 10, "God, you have tested us." Now that is true. You have done that. "You have put us through fire to make us like silver." Yes, we are different.

Verse 11, "You put us in prison." It seemed like our homes had become like prisons, didn't they? "You placed heavy loads on our backs." For some wearing masks was a heavy load.

Verse 12 (NIV), "You let people ride over our heads;" Now that has been tough hasn't it? The demands, the requirements, the restrictions have really been difficult. "We went through fire and water." It has been rough. Yes it has.

But this is also true and we need to thank Him and praise Him (NIRV), "But you have brought us to a place where we have everything we need."

Here is how The MESSAGE puts it, verses 10-12, "He trained us first, passed us like silver through refining fires, brought us into hardscrabble country, pushed us to our very limit, road-tested us inside and out, took us to hell and back;" All of that is so true and so is this, "Finally he brought us to this well-watered place." The NLT says, "We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of abundance."

Now this is important to see, verses 16-20 (NIRV), "Come and hear, all you who have respect for God. Let me tell you what He has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth. I praised him with my tongue. If I had enjoyed having sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God has surely listened. He has heard my prayer. Give praise to God. He has accepted my prayer. He has not held back his love from me" And that is so true. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do

Psalm 8:3-4 (NLT), "When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars you set in place - what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?" Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do. No, not the fact that I can go out my front door and look out at night at the marvels of the sky. I can do that and it is amazing and it takes my breath away each time I see it. Yes, that is a fact but the reality of who did that and the wisdom and the faith that I have to believe that and to marvel that the one who did that cares about me makes such a difference in how I live my life. Yes, God really does. That is so wonderful for us to believe. And that is why faith and wisdom are so important. Now whatever belief you have at how that marvel happened must also be believed through faith. And the sad thing to me is that more and more people have been taught that there is no God and therefore he did not have a h...

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together!

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together! They really do. And this is what caught my attention this morning as I was reading Proverbs 2. Verse 1 (NRSVUE) says, "My child, if you accept my words and treasure my commands within you." Verse 3 (NIV), "Indeed i f you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, Verse 4, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, Verse 5, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." And verses 9-11, " Then you will understand what is right and just and fair - every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you." There will always be some effort we must do, some ifs for the thens to be realized in our lives. So many of us want to understand without the ifs. But the thens are so worth, so very worth the effort. Verses 5-6 in the Ampli...

Wednesday... Our unless can turn into useless.

Wednesday... Our unless can turn into useless. It really can. I have found that unless I give the correct email of my wife then I can't get what I wanted. I put an extra i in her email and I have been working for 5 days to get it changed. Unless has been useless. The writer of Psalm 94 uses this word and shows how important it is. Verses 17-19 (NLT) says, "Unless the Lord had helped me, I would have soon settled in the silence of the grave. I cried out, 'I'm slipping!' but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer." "Unless the Lord had helped me." So many people go on and on and on striving to live their life on their own but they keep slipping and doubting and living without hope and cheer. Yes the Lord has such unfailing love for us, he really does but unless we have a relationship with him and we turn to him and ask him for help then the unless turns in to useless because h...

Todays Beginning

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