Tuesday.... We can be so critical and maybe blow it.

Especially with people who are different than we are. Especially when they see things different than we do.

Proverbs 20:3 (NLT) says, "Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling."

And then verse 29 says, "The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hairs of experience is the splendor of the old." But they drive so fast, so slow. But they look down on me, they don't understand, they don't appreciate me.

Yes there are some things where we can get way off track and we need to stop and really listen to the other side especially when it's the Good News about what God has done through Jesus his Son. There are some things where we need to stop and listen. But how it is said goes a long way in how it is received.

Now in the new church that was coming into existence after Jesus resurrection and his going back to heaven there was a major disagreement between the Jews and the Gentiles. Yes, there has been a problem between these two going all the way back to Abraham and his two sons. Now one side was saying we've always done it this way but the other side was seeing it a different way and they were right. They were right because something happened to change the way they used to do and now what they are to do.

Yes, life can be so complicated, can't it? So it really is wise to stop and listen and see life from a different perspective. There may be something to learn.

The problem was, the Jews had lived and follow a certain law. Yes, it was a law from God but something happened that changed everything. God sent his Son to earth to change it all through his teaching, his life, his perspective and then his death and resurrection. His coming and death and resurrection changed everything.

Paul in Galatians 3:3-4 says, "How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely is was not in vain, was it?" Yes, we have so much to learn. And just because we have always done it one way doesn't mean it is right. Maybe we need to stop quarreling and stop and listen no matter if they are young or old, if they are different from us. Maybe we need to change. Maybe the way we are doing it isn't working.

Verse 5 says, "I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ."

The Amplified Bible says, "So then, does He who supplies you with HIs [marvelous Holy] Spirit and works miracles among you, do it as a result of the works of the Law [which you perform] or because you [believe confidently in the message which you] heard with faith?"

Maybe we need to stop quarreling and start listening. Yes, something happened that changed the world. Jesus came to earth and he change it all. And that message of His salvation may come to us through someone young or old and maybe we need to listen. It really is Good News. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Monday... He did it by Himself

Isaiah 44:24b (AMP), "I am the Lord, Maker of all things. Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself." Monday... He did it by Himself. Many have a tendency to think very highly of themselves and what they can do. Oh we do have great ability but we are not the source. Yes it is important to have self-confidence but we are limited. The prophet Isaiah in 44:9-10 (NLT) says, "How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don't know this, so they are all put to shame. Who but a fool would make his own god - an idol that cannot help him one bit?" Now later in verse 24 (AMP) he writes, "For the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb says, 'I am the Lord, Maker of all things, Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself.'" I love that. "By Myself." Now we do need confidence but we are foolish to ma...

Friday... We have this hope of expectancy.

Psalm 5:3 (NLT), "Listen to my voice in the morning Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." Friday... We have this hope of expectancy. Now David found a great way to start his day. He says in Psalm 5:1-3 (NLT), "O LORD, hear me as I pray." And that is a great place to start. It really is. Morning sunrise He goes on, "Listen to my cry for help, my King, my God, for I pray to no one but you." And that is so important. We don't try to pump ourselves up by ourself. No, we pray to no one but you, God, my LORD, my King. Now this relationship with God is so, so very important. And then David says, "Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you" And that is so great. And then he says, "and wait expectantly." Yes, we have this hope of expectancy. We are experienced. That is what a relationship with God and a moment by moment connection does. It makes a difference in our daily wa...

Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true.

Psalm 12:6 (NLT), "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true. Maybe this is what you want to say in this day in which we live. Psalm 12:1-2 (MSG) says, "Quick, I need your helping hand! The last decent person just went down, all the friends I depend on gone. Everyone talks in lie language; lies slide off their oily lips. They doubletalk with forked tongues." Do you ever feel that way?" Have you found that to be true? Well David the writer of this Psalm continues and says in verse 6 something to encourage us, to lift us up, to give us hope. Psalm 12:6 (NLT) says, "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." The Message Paraphrase says verses 6-8 this way, "God's words are pure words, pure silver words refined seven times in the fires of his word-kiln, pure on earth as well as in heaven, God, keep ...

Todays Beginning

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