Monday... Winning and love seem to go together.

Proverbs 14:20 (MSG) says, "An unlucky loser is shunned by all, but everyone loves a winner." Last night was the Super Bowl and at the end there was a team that will be remembered as the winner. Now a lot of different situations came about to make them the winner but history will tell everyone they won. And the Proverbs says that everyone loves a winner.

But that may not be a good thing. Verse 21 says, "It's criminal to ignore a neighbor in need, but compassion for the poor - what a blessing."

The NLT gives another slant to these two verses. It says, "The poor are despised even by their neighbors, while the rich have many 'friends.' It is a sin to belittle one's neighbor; blessed are those who help the poor."

Granite in sports there is always a winner and loser but in God's view of a winner and loser is different. An unlucky loser could also be a winner depending upon how they handle it or how I reach out to them with understanding and love. Yes the poor are looked down on because they are poor but God says it is a sin to belittle one's neighbor even though they may be poor or an unlucky loser and blessed are those who help the poor. God's definition of a winner is different.

Verse 22 (MSG) says, "Isn't it obvious that conspirators lose out, while the thoughtful win love and trust."

The NLT says, "If you plan to do evil, you will be lost; if you plan to do good, you will receive unfailing love and faithfulness." Now that is the kind of winner I want to be. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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Thursday... Maybe we need this word today.

Psalm 57:1b (NIRV), "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Thursday... Maybe we need this word today. There are words in life that give us confidence no matter what we are facing. Now we have to believe them in order for them to have an impact. David wrote Psalm 57 while he was in a cave hiding from Saul who wanted to kill him and he says in the last part of verse 1, "There I will stay." It was a safe place and Saul didn't know that he was there. But he doesn't stop there. With confidence he said, "There I will stay until." And until is definitely a word of faith and confidence. "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Do we need that today? Let me give you the whole verse. In verse 1 David says, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." And that is a great place to start in times of trouble. Maybe that is what we need to pray today, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." It is so great to have someone...

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 ...

Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute.

Proverbs 19:2 (NLT), "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute. This time of the year is so exciting. We get our paycheck from work and then we head to the store or Amazon and buy and buy and buy all those presents and then our check is gone Proverbs 19:2 (NLT) says, "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." But buying gifts can be so much fun and seeing how happy they are when opening those presents makes us feel so good. But then verse 3 says, "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then they are angry at the Lord." Now for some that is their life. They get money and they spend it on their wants with no thought of what needs to be paid. An important lesson that we have learned is just because you have money in the bank doesn't mean you must spend it. But our enthusiasm takes over. But the problem is when it is gone and there is no money to pay th...

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