Thursday... Let's take care of those differences and hurtful memories.

And that is a great way to live.

Paul in Ephesians 4:3 (NLT) says, "Make every effort to keep yourselves united together with peace." It is so hard to live with someone and be in conflict, isn't it? Always remembering something they did especially in your past. Well, making an effort in the here and now can make such a difference in each day and in our futures.

Verse 2 says, "Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowances for each other's faults because of your love." That is such a great idea.

The Message says it this way. "I don't want anyone of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline - not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences." What a great idea. And in our homes is a great place for us to start and continue to do, isn't it?

Now later in this chapter Pauls gets practical. In verses 26-27 he writes, "And 'don't sin by letting anger control you.' Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil."

Let's say someone does something to you and you become angry at them. Now if you do nothing about this anger before you go to sleep then it becomes a part of your memory, a hurtful memory but if you forgive them and resolve the conflict before you go to sleep then the Spirit wipes it from your memory. In other words, the devil won't have a foothold in your memories. Even if they haven't asked you to forgive them, just forgive them before you go to sleep. As verse 3 says, "Make every effort to keep yourselves united together with peace."

Verse 27 in the Amplified Bible says, "And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness]."

Verse 32 says, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." He isn't asking you to do something that he hasn't already done to you.

Now this is important for us to see. Yes, someone is bad to you and God will judge them and deal with them but even if you haven't done what they did, you will be by judged by God, held responsible for your reaction to what they did to you. This is so important for us to see.

Remember, "And 'don't sin by letting anger control you.' Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry." And "Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowances for each other's faults because of your love." And, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Your being forgiven and forgiving is a big deal with God.

So let's take care of the wrongs done to us by others and not let them become a controlling part of our memories. Let's work it out before we go to sleep so the Spirit can take care of it before it becomes a controlling, painful memory. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Thursday... Maybe we need this word today.

Psalm 57:1b (NIRV), "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Thursday... Maybe we need this word today. There are words in life that give us confidence no matter what we are facing. Now we have to believe them in order for them to have an impact. David wrote Psalm 57 while he was in a cave hiding from Saul who wanted to kill him and he says in the last part of verse 1, "There I will stay." It was a safe place and Saul didn't know that he was there. But he doesn't stop there. With confidence he said, "There I will stay until." And until is definitely a word of faith and confidence. "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Do we need that today? Let me give you the whole verse. In verse 1 David says, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." And that is a great place to start in times of trouble. Maybe that is what we need to pray today, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." It is so great to have someone...

Tuesday... We just have trouble listening.

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Tuesday... We just have trouble listening. Over in Jeremiah 25:4 (NLT) it says, "Again and again the LORD has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention." And Jeremiah went on to tell what was going to happen. There will be consequences if we do not listen to what God says through his Word. Now the Apostle Paul over in 1 Corinthians was having a problem with some professed Christ followers who were having trouble at listening. And we too can have problems at listening. We can think that being a Christ follower means we do a lot of finger pointing and we give up on people who don't do what we say. We can even do that in our families. But Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." In verse ...

Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute.

Proverbs 19:2 (NLT), "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute. This time of the year is so exciting. We get our paycheck from work and then we head to the store or Amazon and buy and buy and buy all those presents and then our check is gone Proverbs 19:2 (NLT) says, "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." But buying gifts can be so much fun and seeing how happy they are when opening those presents makes us feel so good. But then verse 3 says, "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then they are angry at the Lord." Now for some that is their life. They get money and they spend it on their wants with no thought of what needs to be paid. An important lesson that we have learned is just because you have money in the bank doesn't mean you must spend it. But our enthusiasm takes over. But the problem is when it is gone and there is no money to pay th...

Today's Beginning

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