Todays Beginning

Tuesday... What is our Egypt today? What is it that we have put our total trust in to take care of the difficulties of this day? We have something. In the time of Isaiah at one point for the nation of Israel it was Egypt. Isaiah says in chapter 31:1 (NLT), "What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting in their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies..." We still do that today and we will have sorrow if we do. He continues, "instead of looking to the Lord."  So what are we putting our trust in instead of the Lord, "instead of looking to the Lord"? It really is a good question to ask today, what is our Egypt today instead of looking to the Lord? And we have our lists, don't we? We know the Democrats/Republicans will save us. Look at all they have at their disposal. Yes, God can use them, he can use Egypt but he is the source. What is it we turn to first thing each morning? Is it God? and that is th...

Monday... Oh to be really satisfied. We search and search for something that will satisfy us. The writer of Psalm 90 went to the right place. He says to God in verse 14 (NLT), "Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives." We search and search and it is right in front of us. Did that last item you ate or those clothes that you bought satisfy you? They may have for a moment but we get up each morning ready to go and search for more. We even search for love but is it unfailing? God's love is. It really is. And it will last forever. Nothing else will do that. Verse 15 says, "Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!" Oh, so many places we have searched only to be miserable.  Now, Moses is the writer of this Psalm and it is understandable why he would also say, "Replace the evil years with good." He had to lead those griping people through the wilderness for 40 years instead of going into the ...

Saturday... Such good advice. It really is. Peter in the last chapter of his first letter says in verse 5b (MSG), "But all of you, leaders and followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other." And verse 6 tells us why, "for - God has had it with the proud, but takes delight in just plain people."  Have you ever been around someone, even worked for someone who is a know it all, who feels they are above you and everyone else? You probably won't go the extra mile for them. So it is very good advice to not be one of those people. Well, God has had it with people like that. The NLT says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." And Peter goes on in verses 6 & 7 and they are such important verses. Verse 7 has been one of my life verses. There was a time when I was in my second year of college that I said it over and over to keep me going. Peter writes, "So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time ...

Friday... It really does, yes it really does. We, it seems, even in the Christian world are having trouble with hate. Even in our families and with our friends and especially with those who disagree with us, there is a whole lot of hate going around and the Devil is so happy.  Now 1 Peter 4:7-8 (NLT) says, "The end of the world is coming soon", and hate is not a way to show that Christ is the answer.  That's the Devils way.  Peter goes on. He says, "Therefore be earnest and disciplined in your prayers." We need to be on our knees and praying earnestly for those around us even those we disagree with. They are lost and they need God and hate is playing into the Devil's hands.  He continues, "Most importantly of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love for each other covers a multitude of sins." Not hate but love, love is God's way. Open arms and on our knees makes so much more of a difference that fists. "Love covers a multit...

Thursday... He will bend down. I have had a problem with my hearing for quite awhile now. I either have to say nothing and guess what they say or say, "What did you say?" because I really did want to know what they said. In those beginning years of being a parent, I wanted to hear everything Brett and Stefanie would say so sometimes I had to bend down to hear what they were saying because what they said was so very important to me. And it still is to me. Look at this. The writer of Psalm 86 in verse 1 (NLT) says, "Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer." Now he is God and of course he can hear my prayer but it is very important to us that he hears our prayer. We need him to hear our pray. So, God, would you come near to me, would you bend down so you can hear my prayer? Would you? Now the truth is, most of our prayers are silent but he still hears us. He really does. So, what do you need God to bend down and hear from you today?  For me it is hard to realize how many...

Wednesday... Once we were but now I am. As I was reading in 1 Peter 2 this morning this word "once" jumped out at me. Here is what verse 10 (NIV) says, "Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." I'm sure that we all can look back on a time that once we were and it does not bring good memories. But them in some, there is a time that we did something about it and the once we were turns into but now I am and it is such a good change. There are times that we can look back and think, who was that person but then something happened to us and we have definitely changed. Or have you? Well, I'm here to tell you that you can. Peter starts this chapter by saying in verse 1 (MSG), "So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk." The NLT says, "So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all evil deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all ...

Tuesday... Do you know your assignment? The Apostle Peter wrote a letter in the later part of the New Testament of the Bible and here is the way he started it. In verse 1 (MSG) of the first chapter of 1 Peter he writes, "I, Peter, an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds."  Peter knew why he got up every morning. And that is a great thing to know. He didn't lay in bed and wonder what he was going to do each day. He was assigned to reach out to people who had been scattered from their home. And if you read these two letters you too will be encouraged especially if you are going through tough times. So why do you get up each morning? God has an assignment for each of us. Do you know your's? A good thing is to start your day by thanking God for your yesterday and them asking Him for the assignment for the day and the strength to do it.  Now I know my assignment and I am energized by it each and everyday that I do it. I...

Monday... This might be a good thing to think about today. James gives some more practical advice for us as we head out to a new week. He says in James 5:9 (MSG), "Friends, don't complain about each other. A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know. The Judge is just around the corner." And that is so true. Now this might be a good thing to think about. We may complain about family but if someone else does, look out. And God is our Father and creator and he doesn't like it when someone complains about his family, his creation. And he knows what we are saying.  Right before this, James in verses 7-8 says, "Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master's Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time." We have not all arrived at maturity yet. All that we ar...

Saturday... It is another day. It really is. And that is about the extent of what we really know. isn't it?  Tell me this, when you wake up tomorrow morning, what will be the first thought you will think? Oh, I'm sure we can surmise but we really don't know what tomorrow holds. Oh we have plans, we have desires, we have hopes but do we really know? Do we? James in the New Testament wrote a very practical book. He gives so much good advice and truth and he had in chapter 4 some thoughts on this.  In verses 13-15 (MSG) he says, "And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, 'Today - at the latest tomorrow - we're off to such and such city for the year. We're going to start a business and make a lot of money." Yes, it is important to have some plans about our future but then he says, "You don't know the first thing about tomorrow." Just because we make plans doesn't mean that it is going to happen. He goes on, "You're noth...

Friday... There will be some turning in our lives. Have you found that true? My son and his family are going through a major turning. Their oldest is a senior in high school and is out looking at universities for next year. That is a major turn in both the parents and the child.  Now the writer of Psalm 80:3 (NLT) talks about a major turn that makes the difference in all the other turns being the right ones. He writes, "Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved." And that is such an important and major turn that will make a major difference in all the other turns in our lives. It really will. And he says the same thing in verse 7 and in verse 19. He wants to emphasize the importance of this turn. Do you need to pray that prayer? Have you been making all your turns on your own and you have messed up your life?  If you read the first three chapters of the Bible, you will see what God's plan was for us. But the two he gav...

Thursday... Maybe you need to pray this today. I love reading the Psalms. I have read a Psalm a day for over 40 years. I have found it to be a great way to start my day. They seem to be what I need each day.  As I was reading in Psalm 79 today I found something that I thought could be what some of you may need to pray today. There is power in praying Scripture back to God. There really is and maybe this is what you in your desperation and despair need to pray today. Verse 8 (NLT) says, "Do not hold us guilty for the sins of our ancestors!" The Message says, "Don't blame us for the sins of our parents." Some need to pray that. Maybe they feel like they are being held back because of what their parents did or what they believed. Maybe you need to pray that. Remember, there is power in praying Scripture. Pray that the chains of your past and the influence of those around you will be broken. He goes on. (NLT), "Let your compassion quickly meet our needs, for we...

Wednesday... It is such a good rule. Over in James 2:8 (MSG) he says, "You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: 'Love others as you love yourself.'" Now we look at this rule many times and we highlight the last part, "as you love yourselves." and not the first part, "Love others." Yes we highlight our need to love ourself but that can also get us into trouble. But the key here is to "Love others."  Later James says in verses 12-13, "Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgement every time." Now we are good at the harsh judgement, aren't we? There is a whole lot of judgement going on, isn't there? But what about kind mercy." The New Living Translation puts verses 12-13 this way. It says, "So whatever you say or whatever you do, you will be jud...

Tuesday... They have their rewards. Now the key is to have an authentic relationship with God in which we are totally dependent on him which gives us a totally different perspective in so many ways of this life in which we live. James 1:9 (AMP) says, "Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position [as a born-again believer, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God];" I know, I know that doesn't make sense in this world in which we live. But James goes on. In verse 10 he continues, "and the rich man is to glory in being humbled [by trials revealing human frailty, knowing true riches are found in the grace of God], for like the flower of the grass he will pass away." Verses 9-11 in the NLT says it this way, "Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. The hot sun rises and the g...

Monday... Two thoughts of encouragement for today. One from the Old Testament and one from the New. In facing what is ahead today, the best place to start is in God's Word. It really is. I found this in Psalm 76:4 (NLT), "You are glorious and more majestic than the everlasting mountains." I love mountains and I love this verse. My wife and I live in one of the most sinful valleys in the world and we are surrounded by mountains. I don't need to look at what is happening in the valley and be overwhelmed and discouraged but I do need to look at the surrounding mountains. All that man has created and is doing in this valley does not hold anything to the everlasting mountains that God has created.  The world is in great turmoil right now but God is more glorious and majestic than the everlasting mountains and he oversees as they do what is happening.  And then Hebrews 13:6 (AMP) says, "So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently say, 'The Lord is my help...

Saturday... He has the upper hand. As I read in Psalms 74, Isaiah 14 and Hebrews 12 this morning I came to the conclusion that no matter what is happening around us, God has the upper hand.  In the last two verses of Hebrews 12, verses 28 & 29 (NLT) says, "Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire."  He has the upper hand. He really does. He knows what he is doing. He has been through this before. The writer stars this chapter in verse 1 by saying, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." They know that God has the upper hand but they also know what will hold us back and they know what we need to do.  Verse 2 says, "We do this by keeping our eyes on J...

Friday... It is so easy to do. The writer of Psalm 73 was looking around and he was complaining about the people around him and their successes. In verses 2-3 (NLT) he said, "But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness."  He was having it seemed a pity party and a life is not fair and it was getting to him. And that is easy to do, isn't it? But then in verse 21-22 he shares, "Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant - I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you." But it is so easy to do, isn't it? He goes on and he seems to change direction and it is something that we may need to stop and also do. He stops and thinks. Verse 23 says, "Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand." There are so many times that we need to stop and really realize what we have. To stop look...

Thursday... It's no fun when someone is angry with you. There was a lady who was really angry at another lady at Starbucks yesterday. Not a fun time. Have you ever felt that God was angry with you? Well, the children of Israel knew he was angry with them. He had done so much for them and they still didn't follow him. That was not a fun time. Well, Isaiah was given the task of telling them what God was feeling about them but then in Isaiah 12 he tells of what will happen in the day that they come back to God. In verse 1 Isaiah writes, "In that day you will sing: 'I will praise you, O Lord! You were angry with me, but not anymore. Now you comfort me.'" Now that is a great feeling, isn't it? Knowing that someone was really angry with you and it was your fault but then they aren't anymore. A great load is lifted, isn't it?  He goes on in verse 2. He says, "See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength...

Wednesday... He really is what we need. He really is. The truth is, we really do need something to help us face what we are facing today, don't we? I mean, war is a horrible thing to wake up to. It really is. And we now have it in two places in the world. And then, all that is being said in this election is so discouraging. Not a whole lot of encouragement there.  But then, I head out to my couch in my backyard with my dog, Turner by my side, and I start reading in Psalm 71, the Psalm for today and the writer says in verse 3 (NLT) what we need to pray today. It says, "Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress." Listen, God is really what we need in times like this. How do I know? Because it says so in his word, the Bible, and he has been what I have needed before and He will be today. Look at this. This may not be true of you but it has been for me so I can say this to encourage you. Verse 5 says, "O ...

Tuesday... So where do they come from? Life has its good times and not so good times. I am a big Los Angeles Dodgers fan and they lost last night their second game in a best out of five playoff series. My football team also lost this weekend. So I've come to the conclusion that my joy and gladness doesn't always come from my sports teams. So many places where we look for joy and gladness so many times brings us emotional trouble and disappointments. Now King David was the focus king of Israel and the writer of many of the Psalms in the OT of the Bible and he says in Psalm 70:4 (NLT), "But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you." It seems it's not a where but a who.  Now he is not talking about being a fan of the LA Dodgers. It's true that every once in a while I get some joy and gladness from them and I hope that will be true on Wednesday night when they play their next game but in no way is it continual. But we get so emotionally in...

Monday... It can be confusing. Isaiah was a prophet who was given the task of telling God's chosen people what was to come and a big portion was bad but there also was some very good. Now some of it wasn't confusing but some could have been at least when it was happening. In Isaiah 9:8-9 (NLT) he says, "The Lord has spoken out against Jacob; his judgement has fallen against Israel. And the people of Israel and Samaria, who spoke with such pride and arrogance, will soon know it."  And then down to verse 13, "For after all this punishment, the people will still not repent. They will not seek the Lord of Heaven's Armies." That was not a message that was easy to give and not one that was easy to receive, but Isaiah was faithful in giving it. But there was another message God gave him to share. It was a very encouraging message but one that later could have been confusing. Verse 2 says, "The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those w...

Saturday... Oh how we need it. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 67:1 (NLT), "May God be merciful and bless us. May his face shine with favor on us." Yes we want this but he also wants us to have it. Over in Isaiah 7 God through Isaiah asked the King of Judah to do something. He wanted him to ask God for something, to test him, (vs. 12), "But the king refused. 'No,' he said, 'I will not test the Lord like that.'" We have our way of doing things.  Verse 13 says, "Then Isaiah said, 'Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn't it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of God as well?'" God wants to give us mercy, he really want to bless us.  Now here is something great. God through Isaiah tells what is going to happen, the consequences but he also shows his mercy. Verse 14 says, "All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son a...

Friday... Maybe we need what we are going through. The writer of Psalm 66:10-11 (NLT) says, "You have tested us. O God; you have purified us like silver. You captured us in your net and laid the burden of slavery on our backs." Yes God had a purpose for his people when they were Egyptian slaves. He goes on. Verse 12 says, "Then you put a leader over us. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance."  It took a long time because of their disobedience. The prophet Isaiah had an unbelievable experience. In chapter 6 of his book he writes in verses 6-9, "Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, 'See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins forgiven.' Then I heard the Lord asking, 'Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us? I said, 'Here I am. Send me....

Thursday... What more could he have done? Isaiah the prophet in chapter 5 of his book tells about all that a man did to make a beautiful, productive vineyard. In verse 2 he says, "He plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with the best vines. In the middle he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for the harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes he grew were bitter." And then in verse 4 it says, "What more could I have done for my vineyard that I have not already done? When I expect sweet grapes, why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?"  Have you ever thought about what more does God needs to do in peoples lives that haven't turned to him, who don't follow him? I mean, he created a beautiful garden back in Genesis and Adam and Eve didn't do what he wanted them to do and so many are doing the same thing today. What more could he have done? David says in Psalm 65:10-11, "You drench the plowed groun...

Wednesday... It is such a small word but it makes such a difference. It is the word, if. It usually is connected with the word, then. If we do this then this will happen. Yes, it is a small word that makes such a difference. The writer of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament of the Bible in chapter 3 verse 14 has a very important if. He says, "For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed , we will share in all that belongs to Christ." If, if, if. The Message says, "If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we're in this with Christ for the long haul." In verses 12-13 he writes, "So watch your step, friends. Make sure there's no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as God's still calling it Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn't slow down your reflexes." Isn't that grea...

Tuesday... You are my helper. Back in Genesis, the first book in the Bible, it tells of the beginning of the earth and it says that God looked down after he had created man and said that he needed a helper. And the tendency for some is to think that women is less important and even weaker because they were created to be a helper. But that is wrong, so very wrong. Look at what David says in Psalm 63:6-8. He writes, "I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand holds me securely." Now who is he talking about? Verse 1 says, "O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you, my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water." And then verse 3, "Your unfailing love is better than life itself; now I praise you." Helper does not mean someone to do what I want, my slave. It is way more than that. It shows our...

Monday... It means so much, especially on Monday, especially during football season.  Victory is so important on Monday during football season, especially if you are a gambler. I live in Las Vegas and so much money changes hands on Sunday and people feel the affect on Monday. Now I am not a gambler but I for so many years was affected emotionally when my team lost. I love all sports but especially baseball. I have been a fan of the Dodgers all the way back to when they were the Brooklyn Dodgers. I would go to pieces when they lost until I came to the realization that I had no control over when they won or lost so why should I let it affect my emotions, and make life miserable for me and those around me. That change really made a differece in my enjoyment. Now I love it when my teams win but it doesn't make me so miserable when they lose.   King David in the Old Testament of the Bible had the right perspective. In Psalms 62:7 (NLT) he says, "My victory and honor come from ...