Tuesday... I really, really do respect Him.

Tuesday... I really, really do respect Him and it really, really does make a difference.

Do you respect someone to the point that you change your behavior when you are around them? Respect seems to affect our behavior.

Psalm 128:1 (NIRV) says, "Blessed are those who have respect for the Lord. They live as he wants them to live." You don't want to displease Him. You want Him to be proud of you. You don't want Him to be disappointed with you.

The New Living Translation says, "How joyful are those who fear the Lord - all who follow his ways."

I had the deepest respect for my dad. I remember when I did something wrong he would put his face in his hands and say, "Where did I go wrong?" and that would really get to me. You might say that using guilt is not a good way to correct but it worked on me, I never wanted to disappoint my dad. I respected him so much. I was afraid I would disappoint him and in no way did I want to do that. My respect, my fear of disappointing him kept me in line.

Now that is another way to look at fear. Yes, I am afraid of God and what He can do and of the consequences of what will happen if I disobey Him but because of His great love for me and my love for Him I am afraid of disappointing Him and that motivates me to obey Him.

Verse 2, "You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be." So many benefits from obeying God.

Verse 5, "May the Lord continually bless you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem prosper as long as you live." And then verse 6. I love verse 6. "May you live to enjoy your grandchildren." And that I do. And that I do.

Verses 1 & 2 (MSG), "All who fear God, how blessed you are! How happily you walk on his smooth straight road! You worked hard and deserve all you got coming. Enjoy the blessing! Revel in the goodness!" Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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Tuesday... It is so worth it. It really is!

Tuesday... It is so worth it. It really is! Look at this, Proverbs 5:21-23 (CEV) says, "The Lord sees everything, and he watches us closely. Sinners are trapped and caught by their own evil deeds. They get lost and die because of their foolishness and lack of self-control." That is true of so many. Now look at this, Luke 15:1-7 says, "Tax collectors and sinners were all crowding around to listen to Jesus. So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses started grumbling, 'This man is friendly with sinners. He even eats with them.' Then Jesus told them this story: If any of you has 100 sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won't you leave the 99 in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? And when you find it, you will put it on your shoulder and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbors and say, 'Let's celebrate! I've found my lost sheep.' Jesus said, 'In the same way there is mo...

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...

Todays Beginning

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