Wednesday... But He did listen, He did listen.

Have you ever been talking with someone and you realize that they are not listening. Just because I am talking doesn't mean there is a conversation. The other person must be listening. Now if it is really something that is important then it is imperative that they listen.

David over in Psalm 66:16 & 17 (NLT) says, "Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke." When David cried out, God listened. He did and He did something for him.

But then verse 18 reinforces an important Biblical truth. It gives the reason why He listened. It says, "If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened." Sin in our heart that we have not confessed to Him and asked Him to forgive us for severs our potential communication with Him and thus His blessings to us. He doesn't listen if there is sin in our hearts.

When Jesus was on the cross about to die, He took on Himself all the sins of the world and God turned His back to Him, His only Son. Because God is holy He can't be where sin is but Jesus death, His sacrifice took care of those sins and He could then communicate with His Father again. And His death makes it possible for our sins to be taken care of when we confess them so we can communicate with Gid

But He goes on. Verses 19 & 20 says, "But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me." Unconfessed sin really does make a difference in my communication with God and it does makes a big difference in my life.

So an honest confession needs to be a part of our prayer with God.

The MESSAGE says, "If I had been cozy with evil, the Lord would never have listened. But he most surely did listen, he came on the double when he heard my prayer. Blessed be God: he didn't turn a deaf ear, he stayed with me, loyal in his love." He did listen. 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...

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Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together!

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Todays Beginning

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