Thursday... But it stays clean.

The writer of Proverbs writes in 14:4 (NLT), "Without oxen a stable stays clean." Now staying clean is a good thing, isn't it? If no one lives in a house, then it says clean. If you never take your car out of the garage it stays clean. If you never let your kids go outside and play they will stay clean.

He goes on, "But you need a strong ox for a large harvest." But it's a good thing when you live in the house. It's a good thing when you go places, maybe work or church. It's a good thing for kids to play. Yes we may have many levels of desires but then there is always the greater ones that supersedes the lesser ones.

Over in Acts 26 Paul is in big trouble. He is a prisoner. Now if being free, if being back home in Jerusalem was his greatest desire then he wouldn't have been standing and sharing the Good News to King Agrippa and governor Festus. Verse 32 says, "And Agrippa said to Festus, 'He could have been set free if he hadn't appealed to Caesar." But being free wasn't his greatest desire. Something inside him said he was to go to Rome even if he was a prisoner. And there in prison Paul wrote a big portion of the New Testament. But if freedom was his greatest desire then he wouldn't have made such a difference in sharing the Good News to generation upon generation.

So what is driving you? Yes your stable could be clean "but you need a strong oxen for a large harvest." Make sure what you are living for will make the greatest difference. Proverbs 14:8 says, "The prudent understand where they are going but fools deceive themselves." 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...

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