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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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.

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Tuesday... We just have trouble listening. Over in Jeremiah 25:4 (NLT) it says, "Again and again the LORD has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention." And Jeremiah went on to tell what was going to happen. There will be consequences if we do not listen to what God says through his Word. Now the Apostle Paul over in 1 Corinthians was having a problem with some professed Christ followers who were having trouble at listening. And we too can have problems at listening. We can think that being a Christ follower means we do a lot of finger pointing and we give up on people who don't do what we say. We can even do that in our families. But Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." In verse ...

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...

Today's Beginning

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