Todays Beginning

Friday... It is so practical. It really is. When reading through the Bible on a daily basis we can come across so much practical wisdom. God's Word is really alive and so livable. It makes such a difference. Here is what Proverbs 17:14 (NLT) says, "Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, so stop before a dispute breaks out." Did you know that what is happening in the middle east started way back when a man made a wrong decision and it still is being carried out today? It never was resolved. How many divorces were started over a quarrel that was never resolved? Or best friends had a disagreement and it has continued to today and nobody even remembers how it started. Verse 14 in the Amplified Bible says, "The beginning of strife is like letting out water [as from a small break in a dam; first it trickles and then it gushes]; Therefore abandon the quarrel before it breaks out and tempers explode."   Verse 1 (NLT) says, "Better a dry crust eaten in peac

Thursday... We have freedom and abilities. Now Psalm 136:1 (AMP) says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness, (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever." Who we are and what abilities we have starts with the fact that God is good. Each day starts with a thankful heart. Okay? Yes, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good." Yes, He is! Yes, He is! But it goes on. Proverbs 16:9 says, "A man's mind plans his ways [as he journeys through life]," Yes, God is good and He gives us freedom and abilities but it is not all on us. Verse 9 continues. It says, "But the Lord directs his steps and establishes them." The Messages says, "We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it." Then verse 20 (AMP) says, "He who pays attention to the word [of God] will find good." Remember, God is good. "And blessed (happy, prosperous. to be admired) is he who trusts [confidently] in the

Wednesday... There are so many amazing happenings. Life is such an amazing journey with God. Psalm 135:5-6 (NKJV) says, "For I know that the Lord is great, and the Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases He does, in heaven and earth, in the seas and in all the deeps." It is amazing what He can do and does. But we don't always know that it is Him at work. Peter over in the book of Acts in the NT 12:5 says, "Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church." Now we pray. That is what we do when we worship a God who is great and who can do whatever pleases Him. Yes we pray, yes we connect with our God but when something happens we may wonder. Ok, Peter was in prison. Verse 7 (NLT) says, "Suddenly. there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter." And he struck him, he woke him up and told him to get up. "And the chains fell off his wrists." and the angel

Tuesday... Many of us it seems have problems here. I know I can. Proverbs 14:29 (NLT) says, "People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness." We can be so quick in our temper, can't we? When all we need is to take time to stop and strive to understand.  The Amplified Bible gives a little more detail. It says, "He who is slow to anger has great understanding [and profits from self-control]." How many times have we jumped to a conclusion but then find that we look so foolish? Oh if we would just stop and strive to understand what is happening and do all we can to listen. James the brother of Jesus over in his book in the New Testament in chapter 1:19 (NLT) gives such good advice. James writes, "Understand this," There's that word again. " Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters; You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry."  I love how The Message says it. It says, "

Monday... Look at these. They will make a difference. Today is the 13th of May and I just read Proverbs 13 in the Old Testament of the Bible and here are some wise words to take hold of and live out. Verse 10 (NLT) says, "Pride leads to conflict;" Now that is so true. It seems that all conflict comes from pride. I know what is right. Yes I do.  So you need to listen to me. No you need to listen to me. "Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise." But that shows that I'm weak. No, it shows you are wise. Verse 11, "Wealth from get-rich-schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time." Now that is very wise advice. I know it can be hard to get up on a Monday morning and head out to work but that is the way it works. And it is important to even at a young age to start saving a little bit at a time. Yes, it can be hard to save and to live on a budget but it will make all the difference in your life. It also means that you can

Friday... He knows where we are. I don't know where you are in your life but he knows and he can and will make a difference. Yes, he will. Here are the first verses that I read this morning and here is the key. A great place to start our day is the Bible. I know, I know, that is an endless record that I play but it does, it really does make a difference in our day. So here is what Psalm 130:1-2 (NLT) says, "From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help. Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer." And that is the next place for us to go in our new day. Now, let's say that we wake up with a deep memory of what we might have done yesterday and we feel guilty. That can bring great despair. Guilt is a horrible way to start our day. Verses 3 & 4 says, "Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you." And that is great news. The Amplified Bible says it this way

Thursday... We really, really need good judgement. Have you found that true? Proverbs 9:6 (NLT) says, "Leave your simple ways behind and begin to live; learn to use good judgement." This verse jumped out at me as I was reading this morning. And it is so true.  Look at verse 10. It says, "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgement." What are you facing today? I woke up early this morning with some decisions I needed to make and they are not just simple decisions so they needed good judgement. We make so many decisions just based on our emotions, don't we? What do I want to do? What makes sense to me? But there is more to life than just living in simple ways.  Verse 6 in the Amplified Bible says, "Leave [behind] your foolishness [and the foolish] and live, and walk in the way of insight and understand." And verse 10, "The [revenant[ fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as

Wednesday... This is very interesting. Here is how Psalm 128 starts. It says in verse 1 (GNT), "Happy are those who obey the Lord, who live by his commands." Three words that don't seem to work together, happy, obey and commands. They don't seem to go together but they do. Now the key here is, who is it that I am to obey and what are his commands? There are some that we obey who don't bring us joy but we can know without a doubt that the Lord loves us. He really does and that fact makes all of the difference. The Amplified Bible says, "Blessed [happy and sheltered by God's favor] is everyone who fears the Lord [and worships Him with obedience], who walks in His ways and lives according to His commandments." But there is something inside of us that doesn't want to be obedient that wants our own way and that doesn't lead to a good and happy life. Look at Psalm 1:1&2, "Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who d

Tuesday... It is so easy to take them for granted. It really is. But he keeps blessing us and blessing us. Solomon the writer of Psalm 127:1 (AMP) says, "Unless the Lord builds the house. they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord builds the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain." We can go back to Psalm 121 to reinforce this blessing. He says in verse 1, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills [of Jerusalem] - from where shall my help come?" Verse 3, "He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber." And verse 5, "The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand." Oh, God, may we not take this for granted. Back to Psalm 127:2. It says, "It is vain for you to rise early, to retire late, to eat bread of anxious labors - for He gives [blessings] to His beloved even in His sleep." Again, "He give [blessings] to His beloved." And here is another one that we take for granted. Verse 3 sa

Monday... So let's keep at it! This whole matter of retirement still has responsibility attached to it. It for sure is not all leisure. There is no way that God has built me to do just that. Over in Acts 5:42 (NLT) it says, "And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message, 'Jesus is the Messiah.'" Yes, Jesus had gone back to heaven but that didn't stop them. They still kept at it. Now a few years back I retired from some of the responsibilities of being a pastor. That was a difficult decision and it was a right one. But my task as a Christ follower wasn't over. I still have a message to give every day house to house, I do it thought the internet and in my coffee shops, and with my neighbors. And I will be doing this as long as I am able to do it.  I am about to have in a few weeks a birthday. It is a significant number but I am not done doing what God has called me to do. Now I'm not doing it in the

Friday... There is a lot of this going around. Of course there is a Presidential election so there is a lot of this going around. But here is the key. We need to be reminded of this. Proverbs 3:25 (MSG) says what we need to hear today. It says, "No need to panic over alarms or surprises, or predictions that doomsday's just around the corner." Yes there is a lot of this going around and it is so easy to be a part of all of this talk, isn't there?  But Proverbs 3 doesn't stop here. Verse 26 says something that again we need to remember, that we need to be reminded of. It says, "Because God will be right there with you; he'll keep you safe and sound." The Amplified Bible says, "For the Lord will be your confidence, firm and strong, and will keep your foot from being caught [in a trap]." I have found that starting our day listening or watching the news can be a trap.  Over in Psalm 119:109-112 (NLT) it says, "My life constantly hangs in th

Thursday... It does, it really does make sense. Look at what Psalm 119:73 (NLY) says, "You made me, you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands." Now the problem here is that so many don't believe the first part. Our culture is doing all it can to do away with the fact that Genesis 1:1 is true. They say it doesn't make sense.  And so they are living their life all on their own. And they have the right to do that. But I have put my trust in God's Word and it says in the first book of the Bible in Genesis 1:1 that, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" and everything on it and around it. And that is why that first verse in the Bible is so important and why Psalm 119:73 makes sense. Because he made me, created me then it makes sense that he has the right to ask me to follow his commands. And it also makes sense why culture wants to annihilate that fact. They want control, they want to tell us what to do, they want to com

Wednesday... Now this is not the way we usually think. We usually look at the bad things in our life and see how they harm us. We see no good in them. But the writer of Psalm 119:71 (NLT) says, "My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your degrees." And then verse 72, "Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver." Have you found that God's Word speaks loudly in trouble? At least it does if we go to it and read it and meditate on it. The problem is that suffering can take us to a time of self-pity instead of maturing. Now the Psalmist starts in verse 65 by saying, "You have done many good things for me, Lord, just as you promised." Now that is a great place to start. Verses 66, "I believe in your commands; now teach me good judgement and knowledge."  He goes on, verses 67-68 says, "I used to wander off until you disciplined me; but now I closely follow your word. You are good and d