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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Monday... He did it by Himself

Isaiah 44:24b (AMP), "I am the Lord, Maker of all things. Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself." Monday... He did it by Himself. Many have a tendency to think very highly of themselves and what they can do. Oh we do have great ability but we are not the source. Yes it is important to have self-confidence but we are limited. The prophet Isaiah in 44:9-10 (NLT) says, "How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don't know this, so they are all put to shame. Who but a fool would make his own god - an idol that cannot help him one bit?" Now later in verse 24 (AMP) he writes, "For the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb says, 'I am the Lord, Maker of all things, Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself.'" I love that. "By Myself." Now we do need confidence but we are foolish to ma...

Friday... We have this hope of expectancy.

Psalm 5:3 (NLT), "Listen to my voice in the morning Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." Friday... We have this hope of expectancy. Now David found a great way to start his day. He says in Psalm 5:1-3 (NLT), "O LORD, hear me as I pray." And that is a great place to start. It really is. Morning sunrise He goes on, "Listen to my cry for help, my King, my God, for I pray to no one but you." And that is so important. We don't try to pump ourselves up by ourself. No, we pray to no one but you, God, my LORD, my King. Now this relationship with God is so, so very important. And then David says, "Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you" And that is so great. And then he says, "and wait expectantly." Yes, we have this hope of expectancy. We are experienced. That is what a relationship with God and a moment by moment connection does. It makes a difference in our daily wa...

Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true.

Psalm 12:6 (NLT), "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true. Maybe this is what you want to say in this day in which we live. Psalm 12:1-2 (MSG) says, "Quick, I need your helping hand! The last decent person just went down, all the friends I depend on gone. Everyone talks in lie language; lies slide off their oily lips. They doubletalk with forked tongues." Do you ever feel that way?" Have you found that to be true? Well David the writer of this Psalm continues and says in verse 6 something to encourage us, to lift us up, to give us hope. Psalm 12:6 (NLT) says, "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." The Message Paraphrase says verses 6-8 this way, "God's words are pure words, pure silver words refined seven times in the fires of his word-kiln, pure on earth as well as in heaven, God, keep ...

Todays Beginning

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