Thursday... We live for our rewards.

Thursday... We live for our rewards. And we want them now.

But that's not always how it works. We get up everyday and work hard and want and expect someone to reward us with a compliment, a well done, or even a raise. And we feel hurt when we didn't get it. But if we were rewarded all the time then we would expect it as normal. But that may not be the way it happens. There may be a greater reward in the waiting, not in the expecting.

Jesus in Luke 14:12 (NLT) says, "When you put on a luncheon or a banquet... don't invite your friends, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back and that will be your only reward." And you might say but that would be a good thing. I like to be appreciated and get something in return. We want instant gratification. And we'll do anything to get it.

But He goes on. In verses 13-14 He says, "Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you."

We have wanted our reward, right now for living in the midst of this pandemic and now through these economic troubling times. We want to be rewarded right now. We don't like living through the hard stuff.

We really are so spoiled. We want our rewards right now. But maybe God has something greater for us if we do what He wants us to do and we are patient about getting our reward.

Jesus came to this earth and lived a very difficult life and He was patient because He knew there was a great reward for what He was going through. He would heal someone and then say, "Don't tell anyone." He knew there was a greater reward than the accolaids of the crowd. He put His total trust in His Father. He lived His life for His Father.

The writer of Psalm 26 says in verse 7 (NIRV), "I shout my praise to you. I tell all about the wonderful things you have done." And verse 12, "My feet stand on level ground, In the whole community I will praise the Lord." That is why we are here. We are to praise Him, to give Him glory and to make Him look good even in the hard times. And we will in due time be rewarded. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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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...

Wednesday... It didn't just happen.

Psalm 16;10 (NLT), "For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave." Wednesday... It didn't just happen. We are headed into a weekend of deep emotion. One that we really really love was killed and it didn't just happen. David in Psalm 16:10 (NLT) writes of this happening. He says about God, "For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave." We read over in the Gospels at the beginning of the New Testament in the Bible of the life of God's Son who came to earth to be our sacrifice so that our soul would not be left among the dead. Jesus came so that we wouldn't have to be buried at death and just left there. But he also shares that Jesus who was going to be killed as a sacrifice for our sins would not have to rot in a grave. David many generations before foretold this and that is what happened. Now that had to be a God thing. We can guess a lot about our future and we d...

Tuesday... Each one of us see and describe what we are going through differently but...

Tuesday... Each one of us see and describe what we are going through differently but... We each one have our own way of explaining what we are going through, don't we? Some of us are maximisers, other are minimizers and neither one is better. We each one are different and we see what we are facing differently but no matter what it is and how you see it and describe it, God can handle it! Now the writer of Psalm 46 shows the extremes. In verse 1 he states the basic reality and then he moves on into our fears and he maximizes them to make sure we really understand. Here is what Psalm 46:1-3 (NLT) says, "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!" So what do you fear? The Amplified Bible says verse 1 this way, "God is our refuge and strength [mighty and impenetrable], a very presen...

Todays Beginning

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