Todays Beginning

Monday... But we can change. There is so much about us that strives to bring us down. Our emotions have so much power. The book of Psalms shows that we can lament, we can mourn but it also shows that we don't need to stay there, we can change. Psalm 30:11 (NLT) says, "You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy." Now you realize don't you that if you have gotten your clothes dirty you can change them? That is one of the jobs of our mother. And that is one of the tasks of our God. And David the writer of many of the Psalms is someone who knows all about changing bad times into good, of changing mourning into dancing. But some like the mourning. There is getting attention in there but verse 12 tells us the reason why we need to change our clothes of mourning into clothes of joy. It says "that I might sing praise to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever." It i

Saturday... He is such a giver. He really is! There is so much that we need and there is so much that God wants and can give.  David writes in the last verse, verse 11 of Psalm 29 (AMP). He says, "The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people. The Lord will bless His people with peace." He gives us the strength we need to face whatever we are facing and to whatever we need to do and with that, He blesses us with peace. They seem to go together, don't they? When I am weak and it seems being blown all over the place I have deep anxiety. No way do I have peace. But when I believe that I can handle whatever is coming at me them I have confidence and in that is peace. But the key is, God is the giver of strength and He blesses us with peace. The Amplified Bible says that His strength is unyielding and impenetrable. It can handle anything that we are facing. The MESSAGE says, "God makes his people strong. God give his people peace." Now stren

Friday... May it be so! Paul is writing letter 2 to the church in Thessalonica and it is a letter of instruction and encouragement. And we need both today, don't we? In reading chapter 1, I came across this prayer that he was praying for them. And it is a great prayer for us today. In verse 11 he writes, "we pray for you all the time - pray that our God will make you fit for what he's called you to be, pray that he'll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something."  Isn't that a great prayer? "Pray that he'll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it amounts to something" And that is for sure my prayer for you and for me. First of all, that I have good ideas and acts of faith. This world is out to put us down, to make sure that we feel that we have no worth but God has a different view of us. He wants to not put down our good ideas and our acts of faith but He wants to f

Thursday... Do you need something extra today? Do you? Here is a thought that gets right to the point. It just may be what you need. David in Psalm 27:14 (MSG) says, "Stay with God! Take heart. Don't quit. I'll say it again! Stay with God." Now that is straight to the point. I don't know what you are going through but Got does. Earlier David wrote in verse 1 (NLT) "The Lord is my light and my salvation - so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble." And then in verses 11-13 he says, "Teach me how to live, O Lord. Lead me along the right path, for my enemies are waiting for me. Do not let me fall into their hands. For they accuse me of things I've never done. with every breath they threaten me with violence. Yet I am confident I will see the Lord's goodness while I am here in the land of the living."  And then again in verse 14 he says, "Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave

Wednesday... Here are some reassuring words.  The Apostle Paul writes a letter to the church in Thessalonica. They were going through some very difficult times. And he wanted to reassures them of what was ahead. And we also need to be reminding each other of what is to come. And here is what he says in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 (MSG), "And then this: We can tell you with great confidence - we have the Master's word on it - that when the Master comes again to get us, those of us who are still alive will not get a jump on the dead and leave them behind. In actual fact, they'll be ahead of us. The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God's trumpet blast! He'll come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise - they'll go first. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we'll be walking on air! And then there will be one hugh family reunion with the Master. So

Tuesday... Does this happen to you? David in Psalm 25:15 (MSG) says, "If I keep my eyes on God, I won't trip on my own feet." Do you have troubles in tripping, Does this happen to you? Life has so much that gets in our way: wrong advice, addictions, social media, arguing, taking our eyes off of God. There is so much that can trip us up in our life. I am at the age where I need to do all I can to keep from tripping over my own feet but I have learned that focus is the key. Verses 4-6 (NLT) says, "Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past." Then the Apostle Paul also writes over in 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 (MSG), "May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your l

Monday... It is so worth it. I have never been a climber of steep mountains but I love to watch others climb. But watching is not the same as doing. There are some things they need to let go of and do in order to climb. Fear is one, being secure on the ground is another. There must be some letting go in order to climb. And you also have to do to climb. David in Psalm 24:3 (NLT) asks the question, "Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?" and then in verse 4 answers it, "Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies." There are some requirements to climbing. We must let go and do.  But there are blessings if we do let go and climb. Verse 5 says, "They will receive the Lord's blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior." And that is really good news, it is worth it, isn't it? I've never had the thrill of climbing up the steep wall of Zion Canyon or Red Rock but I am in the process of cli

Saturday... Here is a great discovery. David in Psalm 22:25b (MSG) says, "I have discovered this praise-life." Earlier in verses 1 & 2 (NLT) he says, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice. but I find no relief." And then in verse 24 he says, "For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries." And then in verse 25 (MSG) he says, "Here in this great gathering for worship I have discovered this praise-life." He discovered that praising God changed his focus. Over in 1 Thessalonians 1 Paul writes in verse 5a, "The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions." and verse 6 says, "Although great trouble accompanied the Word, you were able to take great joy from trouble from the Holy Spirit - taking the trouble with the j

Friday... This is the best. We settle so many times, don't we? But this is the best, God is the best. David writes in Psalm 21:7 (MSG), "Is it any wonder that the king loves God? that He's sticking with the Best."  Starting our day with praise, with thanksgiving is a great way to reinforce what we have going for us in our relationship with God. Paul while in prison writes in Colossians 4:2 (NLT), "Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart." The MESSAGE says, "Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude." Yes Paul was in chains but God was using him and was blessing him and he was grateful and was looking forward to what was ahead. Proverbs 21:17 says, "You're addicted to thrills? What an empty life! The pursuit of pleasure is never satisfied." Then verse 21, "Whoever goes hunting for what is right and kind finds life itself - glorious life." Psalm 21:1-7 (NIV) says, "The

Thursday... They bring memories. As I was reading in Psalm 20 (NLT) this morning I came upon a verse that I used before God back when Margaret and I were young. We were headed out to buy a new car and we were anxious and I found this verse, verse 4 which says, "May he grant your heart's desire and make you plans succeed" so we went out looking with confidence. And we found a car that met our desires so we bought it with confidence. And later in our time with that car the motor went out and we had to spend a lot of money on it.  Now this experience taught me that God wants to give us our desires but He also wants us to use wisdom and to seek His guidance. Over in Proverbs 20 verse 29 it says, "The glory of the young is their strength, the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old." And experience is a great teacher and verse 18 says, "Plans succeed through good counsel, don't go to war without wise advice."  Now we just bought another car b

Wednesday... It is there every day. God created the world to show us different aspects of who He is, what He is like and what He wants. Look at this, David writes in Psalm 19:4b-6 (NLT), "God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. It burns forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat." It does its task each day, right on time, with great eagerness and it follows its course everyday. God is like that and He wants us to be like that. Look at this. It burns forth, it is radiant, it rejoices, it is eager, it rises, it follows and nothing can hide from its heat. It has a daily job to do and it does it and it always makes a difference. And the sun is not His greatest creation. We are. He made the sun for us and as an example for us.  Verses 1-4a says, "The heaven proclaim the glory of God. The skies d

Tuesday... Sometimes it feels like our life is falling apart. David the writer of Psalm 18 in verses 20-24 (MSG) says, "God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start." Yes there is hope in whatever you are going through. God wants to give you a fresh start. But somehow I need to place all the pieces of my life before Him and get my act together. He goes on, "Now I'm alert to God's ways; I don't take God for granted." But we do that sometimes, don't we? We put our trust in ourselves and we take God for granted. But David says, "Now I'm alert to God's ways." He continues, "Everyday I review the ways he works; I try not to miss a trick." It is all in the focus, isn't it?  "I feel put back together, and I'm watching my step. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes." Now this is important to see. Ve

Monday... We love this thought. It is such a great one. But do we use it as it was meant to be used? Here is is, Philippians 4:13 (NLT), "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." But here is a good question, can we really be content? And that is what Paul is talking about here. And being content is so important for us in living each and everyday. Here is what Paul says in verses 11-12 (MSG), "I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty." We strive for the next best tool from Apple or that car that everyone wants or whatever it is that you say you can do anything to get but can you live without it? Can you be content and thankful with what you have? Now we need to strive to do what needs to be done to provide for our family, to do the job that we are give

Thursday... He shows us how to turn it around. David writes in Psalm 13 what we feel so many mornings. It seems we too many times wake up on the wrong side of the bed. The day just doesn't look good. But, but. Verses 1-2 (NLT) says, "How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?" Does that sound like us? Does it? Now we could stay there all day. We could but David didn't. In verse 3 he says, "Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die." And that is the prayer we need to pray to get us out of the downward struggle that we too many times start our day. Please God restore the sparkle not the tears, the sparkle to my eyes. Is that what you need to pray today? The AMP says, "Give light (life) to my eyes." The MSG  (vrs. 3-4) says, "I want to look life in the eye, so no enemy can get the best

Wednesday... This word caught my attention. Psalm 12:1 (NIRV) says, "Anyone who loves correction loves knowledge. Anyone who hates to be corrected is stupid." In four of the five translations that I look at each morning they used the word, "stupid". Now the MESSAGE Paraphrase says, "If you love learning, you love the discipline that goes with it - how shortsighted to refuse correction." And both the word shortsighted and stupid are very pointed words to use. We like praise don't we? And we like to be right. But loving correction is very important thing in being right. Many times in many ways we need to be corrected. We didn't like to get check marks on our tests in school, did we? But I found that in learning getting those check marks helped me. I never looked back at the answers that I got right but I did the ones that I got wrong and many times those were the ones that I remembered. Our pride gets in the way of all of this. We must be right even

Tuesday... This really matters and here's why. Paul in his letter to the Philippian church in 1:10 (NLT) says, "For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until Christ's return."  Now that may seem like an impossible situation in the day in which we live. I mean, all of the temptations that are around us are constantly before us striking right at our purity and blameless way of living. But it really matters to God so it must mean that we can and must do it.  He goes on, (vs. 11), "May you always" not just every once in a while, but "May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation - the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ - for this will bring much glory and praise to God." Listen, living a pure and blameless life in the world that we live in must mean that God is great and He will get the glory for us living that way because living without Him makes it impossible.

Monday... Let's be prepared! We have no idea what we will face today, we will face this next week, so we need to be prepared. It is imperative that we are prepared. And Paul while in prison gives some thoughts to this.  He says in Ephesians 6:13-18 (MSG), "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." That is what I want. And I can't do it alone. He goes on, "Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life." And how do we do that? "God's Word is an indispensable weapon." Read that again,  "God's Word is an  indispensable  weapon." It is a daily essential. Just like food is a daily essential so is reading, feeding on God's Word. He also says, "In the same way, pr

Saturday... We need to carefully do this. It is so very important. We flippantly do a lot of things. Oh, this is not really that important but this is. It really is. And we must carefully do it. Paul writes in Ephesians 5:10 (NLT), "Carefully determine what pleases the Lord." Is this really important to do? Do you really take time in your life to determine this? How much time do you spend reading God's Word? We do what really matters to us, what pleases us. We know that but what about what pleases the Lord?  He goes on in verses 11-14, "Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness instead expose them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, 'Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.'" Paul then tells us in verses 15-17, "So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessl

Friday... This is what He is doing. David in Psalm 7:9-10 (MSG) says, "Close the book on Evil, God, but publish your mandate for us. You get us ready for life: you probe for our soft spots, you knock off our rough edges. And I'm feeling fit, so safe: made right, kept right. God in solemn honor does things right." Please understand that what is happening around you and in you is being used by God to make you fit for life. Yes, Evil is all around you but God is showing us what He wants to to do and He is preparing us to fight against Evil in our lives. He knows our soft spots and He wants to knock off our rough edges. Someone asked a sculpture as they were looking together at a big rock, "How do you make an elephant out of that?" And the sculpture said, "You knock everything off of it that doesn't look like an elephant." Jesus is our example in how to live life and God in looking at us and through life He is using everything He can to knock off every

Thursday... Sometimes, we do things that don't please God. This must have been one of those times for David as He wrote Psalm 6. In verse 1 (NLT) he says, "O Lord, don't rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage." And that can be a good honest prayer to pray and maybe that could be your prayer today. But if we are not there yet we need to stop and realize what could happen to us if God was really angry at us and our actions and what could happen if He would discipline us in His rage. Yes, He is a God of love, of grace but we better not take for granite that fact, especially if others are being hurt by us. His prayer goes on in verses 2 & 3, "Have compassion on me, Lord for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. I am sick at heart. How long, O Lord, until you restore me." Going against what God wants can have a physical kickback. It really can. God in His love and wisdom, will use whatever He can to get us back on track but He al

Wednesday... I wait expectantly. There are so many different ways to wait.  David in Psalm 5:1-3 (NLT) says, "O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you. Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." Now that is the way to wait. Your expectation is great because of the One you are praying to. He is great, He is mighty, He is extraordinarily capable. He can do way more than what we can picture. That is where the expectancy comes in. I'm expecting it to be extraordinary. And that comes from my relationship with Him. He has done so much before and He can do even more.  Now disappointment is also a view of expectancy. Some would say, I know I am going to be disappointed. So many people live at that level to the point that they just don't even try. That's there expectation. They live that way. But that wasn't David. He

Tuesday... This is so important to getting answers. We are so self-reliant. We don't seem to need anyone. We believe we can handle no matter what comes into our lives until we can't and we need help but we are so used to having all the answers so we don't ask. It can be like that with God. Psalm 4:1 (MSG) gives the most important thing we need to do to get answers from God. It says, "When I call," It starts there. Communication is such an important part of any healthy relationship and asking for help when we need it is also very important. Now if we think we have all the answers then we don't need to ask. But we don't. And when we get to that point then we say in desperation, "When I call, give me answers." Or as the NLT says it, "Answer me when I call to you." Our attitude of self-reliance is the reason why we don't get answers. It's because we don't call. God wants to give us answers but He won't if we don't ask. 

Monday... It is for sure, worth it. I am writing this on a Monday morning and I know this is many times, the day that we want to just give up, isn't it?   But here's from what Paul says to the Galatian church and to us today. He writes in this last chapter of this small book in Galatians 6:9 (NLT), "So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up." In verses 7-8 (NIRV) he says, "Don't be fooled. You can't outsmart God. A man gathers a crop from what he plants. Some people plant to please their desires controlled by sin. From these desires they will harvest death. Other's plant to please the Holy Spirit. From the Holy Spirit they will harvest eternal life." The NIV says, "A man reaps what he sows." And that is so true. Now it is also important to see that there are others that are dependent on us. If you are in a selfish motivation then others are just no

Saturday... Now this is a very good and desired thing to know and be. It really is. Psalm 1:1-2 (NIV) says, "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers but whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on his law day and night." Now it is a very good thing to be blessed. It really is. The Amplified Bible says it this way, "Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked [following their advice and example], nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit [down to rest] in the seat of scoffers (ridiculers). But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law [His precepts and teachings] he [habitually] meditates day and night." The New Testament in Galatians 5:16-17 (NLT) adds another aspect, another characteristic of a blessed person. It says, "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you