Tuesday... Another word at Christmas is anxiety.

Tuesday... Another word at Christmas is anxiety. I mean, life on a daily basis is hard to handle and then you add all the stuff at Christmas and anxiety goes to another level, doesn't it?

Ephesians 6:15 (NLT) says, "... put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared." Now I love that thought. I want to be fully prepared, don't you?

I started my reading this morning in Psalm 7 (NLT) and verse 1 says, "I come to you for protection, O Lord my God. Save me from my persecutors - rescue me!" The MESSAGE says, "God! God! I am running to you for dear life; the chase is wild. If they catch me, I'm finished." Maybe that is what you are feeling this morning.

Then at the end of the Psalm in verses 16 & 17 (NLT) he says, "The trouble they make for others backfires on them. The violence they plan falls on their own heads. I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High." Verse 17 in the MESSAGE says, "I'm thanking God, who makes things right. I'm singing the fame of heaven-high God." Now that is Good News. We are not alone in all of this.

Ephesians 6:13-18 (MSG) says, "Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out."

Again it says, "God's Word is an indispensable weapon." It really is. So we need to spend time in it during this Christmas Season, don't we? Start each day in it. And then, pray for your fellow Christians. Prayer will make a way more difference than criticizing them, won't it? We really do need God's Word and we really do need each other. 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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