Todays Beginning

Tuesday... We don't always get it on our own. It seems we need help. Over in chapter 1 in the book of Acts of the Apostles in verse 6 (NLT) it says, "So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, 'Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?'" And so many of us still haven't got what Jesus taught. Here these Apostles had spent three years with Jesus, they had heard what he taught, they saw him die on a cross and be resurrected from the grave and they were now with him just before he was going to ascend to heaven and they still thought that he was going to physically free Israel and set up a kingdom with him at the head. And still many of us think that is why he came.  But Jesus didn't condemn them. He told them in verse 8 that he was sending them a helper who was going to change them and use them to extend what Jesus had come to do which was to restore his kingdom in people. Here is what he said, "But you will ...

Monday... I'm back and ready to go. We have gone from Vegas to Colorado, to Maryland, Florida, Bahamas, Cuba, Mexico and back to Vegas. Well we weren't in Cuba but we cruised close to it. Yes we have been flying and cruising and now we are back home and I'm sitting here in my special coffee shop, Aspire, ready to write a word of encouragement for us. So how are you doing? What is your Monday like? Are you ready to face another day, another week or are you ready to give up. Yes, yes, life can be difficult. It really can be tough. So how are you handling what you are facing? There is a phrase in Psalm 119:8b (NLT) that says, "Please don't give up." And that is a very good word of encouragement. But that is not what it says here. Yes, it is so easy sometimes for us to want to give up, to just want to stay in bed and not get up. It does say that in many other Psalms but that is not what is says here in verses 7-8. Verses 7-8 says, "As I learn your righteous r...

  Monday... Here is just a reminder. The weekend is over and a new work week is on us and here in Psalm 105 is a great reminder. I don't know what you are facing but God does. First of all verse 4 (NLT) says, "Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him." That really makes a difference. We may face our whatever it is feeling alone, filled with anxiety, with maybe some fear and for some insecurity. But if we wake up searching for the Lord and his strength our week starts with confidence because we aren't facing it alone.  The Contemporary English Version says, "Trust the Lord and his mighty power." The Amplified Bible says, "Seek and deeply long for the Lord and His strength [His power, His might]; Seek and deeply long for His face and His presence continually." We need to search, continually search, trust, seek, deeply long for the Lord. He is with you. He is and he is out ahead working in your week, in your life. "Continual...

Friday... Why, oh why? I love the book of Proverbs found over in the Old Testament of the Bible. The book of Proverbs is filled with choices and I wonder, why, oh why do people choose the option that they choose instead of the other one? Maybe they don't know the benefit or the consequences of their choice. Let me give you some examples found in Proverbs 12. Today is the 12th day of April so I read the 12th chapter of 31 chapters of Proverbs. Here are some examples, some choices that we each one have. Verse 15 (NLT), "Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others." 16, "A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted." 17, "An honest witness tells the truth, a false witness tells lies." 18, ""Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing." 19, "Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed." 20, "Deceit fills hearts that are plotting ev...

Thursday... I will, yes, I will. Life can really be tough sometimes and we don't always handle it the way we would want to so David in Psalm 101 could be speaking to us. In verses 1-2 (CEV) he says four I wills. There is a part that we play in every situation that we are in and the I wills can make such a difference in our handling them. Here is what David says, "I will sing to you, Lord! I will celebrate your kindness and your justice. Please help me learn to do the right thing and I will be honest and fair in my own kingdom." Now we have no control over what happens to us but we do have control over our response. It has taken me a lifetime of when I go through a negative, a difficult situation to come up with a positive spin to it and the ability to do that has come by spending a lifetime in God's word. Listen, it really does make a difference. Here are four choices, I will sing, I will celebrate and I will be honest and a silent one, I will ask God for help. The ot...

Wednesday... There are so many in our life. There really are. But the writer of Psalm 100:3 (NLT) says, "Acknowledge that the Lord is God!"  Yes there are many lords in our life. So many different lords that seem to want to control our lives, that we look to to bring us what we want and they want.  When we are striving to make a decision there are so many lords, so many voices inside of us that are saying, "Do this, do this" but we need to stop and listen to and "Acknowledge that the Lord is God!" You notice that this Lord is a capital Lord and that the sentence ends with an exclamation point. All those others clamoring for control and attention are not capitalized and do not have an exclamation point. And that is so important to acknowledge. It really is. Here is what the whole verse says, "Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture." Now there is another portion of scripture that em...

Tuesday... It definitely is the truth. Jesus over in John 16:33 (NIV) says something that everyone of us, believer or not, definitely know to be the truth. He says, "In this world you will have trouble." We all know that to be the truth. Now we look at what we are going though or have gone through in our lives and can say, "It is definitely the truth."  Now Jesus had the ability to not only look into the past or the present but also the future. In verse 32 he says to his 12 disciples, "A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone." Yes, "In this world you will have trouble." and that is where so many of us stop.  But Jesus doesn't stop with "You will leave me all alone," he continues by saying, "for my Father is with me." Jesus knew what was ahead for him but he also knew that he was not alone.  He then says, "I have told you these things, so that ...

Monday... This could be that time. Here in the desert where we live, we do have different seasons and there are different water cycles which make such a difference. Now we only have on average 4 inches of rain in a year. We are a desert. So if are going to have any green we need water and so we are on a cycle of how much. In the winter months we get water one day a week in the spring and the fall we get three days of water and then in the summer we get six days.  Now there isn't any growth in the winter for us like it is also true of you and your winters but then the growth starts to happen when we get three day of water. And I am in the process of doing trimming the wild branches on our bushes and shrubs. And it will make such a difference in them. They need it and we love to see the difference. Now Jesus talked about us in John 15:1-2 (NLT). He says, "I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardner. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and h...

Friday... We do have choices. The writer of Psalm 95:6-7 (NLT) says, "Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!" "If only." The writer of Proverbs 5:12-14 says, "You will say, 'How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all the warnings! Oh, why didn't I pay attention to my teachers? Why didn't I pay attention to my instructors? I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace.'" "If only." And then one more. Over in John 14:1-2, John the Apostle quotes Jesus who said, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?" Verses 6-7, "Jesus told him, 'I am the ...

Thursday... This is so, so very true. There is one thing that those of us who are on this side of 70 have and that is experience. Some good and some bad. I was born into a Christian home so my experiences have come from that perspective and what I was taught has held true through all these years. Now I was taught to spend time in God's word, in the Bible and to live by what it says. Thank you God for parents who led me to you. Now along the way I fell in love with the Psalms. They are honest and they are uplifting. And here is what I read today. In verses 18-19 in Psalm 94 (NIV) I found something that is so, so very true. It says, "When I said, 'My foot is slipping.' your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy." And I have slipped along the way and I have found that unfailing love of God supported me and that when my anxiety was about to get me down his consolation brought me joy. That is so, so true. ...

Wednesday... He knew but it still was very difficult. The anticipation of life can be so difficult to handle even when we know it's the right thing to do. And Jesus in his humanness went through it too! We too so many times want to run when we see what is ahead. Over in John 12:27 (NLT) we read where Jesus was being so very honest. He said, "Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, 'Father, save me from this hour'?" Maybe you too are very troubled today. You are facing something that you don't want to face. As a child, I had trouble getting up after the weekend and going back to school. And I too would have liked to pray, "Father save me from this hour." There are so many things in life that we don't want to do, aren't there? And here is Jesus feeling the same way we do. But he doesn't stop here. It is okay to be honest but we cannot let our negative anticipation hold us back from doing what we have to do. And Jesus continues his pr...

Tuesday... What does an elephant look like? Let's say you ask someone that question and they give you a description of the tail of an elephant. That in no way tells you what an elephant really looks like, does it? But so many say they know what God is like and they describe him as an angry being who kills people that he doesn't like. But that isn't a valid description of who God is but because that is their picture then they say that they don't want to serve someone like that. And that is understandable if that is your only picture of God. Now Proverbs 2:22 (NLT) does say, "But the wicked will be removed from the land and the treacherous will be uprooted." Now that isn't the whole picture just like describing the tail is the whole picture of an elephant. But in the beginning of Proverbs 2 in verse 3 it says, "Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding." And then verses 6-7 says, "For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge ...

Monday... There are so many benefits. There are so many benefits from what we celebrated yesterday. The death and resurrection of Jesus for sure makes a difference in those who love him and have accepted him into their heart and life. Having a relationship with God through Jesus' sacrifice and being led by his Holy Spirit brings so much into our lives. The writer of Psalm 91 says in verses 14-16 (NLT), "The Lord says, "I will rescue those who love me. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation." There are so many benefits for those who love God. There really are. Yes the death and resurrection of Jesus makes this all come alive. He became the ultimate sacrifice for each one of us. And we had such a celebration yesterday. So, what are you facing today? The King James Version of the Bible says, "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will...