Friday... Wow, this week went fast but...

The word but is a connecting word. It connects two phrases, two thoughts.

What is it that you are facing as you head into this weekend? What kind of work week did you have? I was talking to one of the managers in my daily coffee shop about the fact that the other manager had gone back home to Oklahoma for a vacation and the person I was talking to said but her husband got Covid and that changed all of their plans. But, but. But can have a negative connotation but not always. Not to David.

David in Psalm 54:3 (NLT) wrote, "For strangers are attacking me; violent people are trying to kill me. They care nothing for God." Our translation says, but Covid is trying to kill us and disrupt our lives and its doing a good job of it.

Then verse 4 says, "But God is my helper. The Lord keeps me alive!" Now that is an awesome but. "But God is my helper. The Lord keeps me alive." No matter what I am going through this but makes all the difference. And that is a great today's beginning.

Every morning as you wake up to begin your day just say, "But God is my helper. The Lord keeps me alive." And then verse 5, "May the evil plans of my enemies be turned against them. Do as you promised and put an end to them."

That but makes all the difference, doesn't it?

He then says in verses 6-7. "I will sacrifice a voluntary offering to you; I will praise your name, O Lord, for you have rescued me from my troubles and helped me to triumph over my enemies." Now that is a great way to end our today. 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...

Today's Beginning

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