Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together!

They really do. And this is what caught my attention this morning as I was reading Proverbs 2.

Verse 1 (NRSVUE) says, "My child, if you accept my words and treasure my commands within you."

Verse 3 (NIV), "Indeed if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,

Verse 4, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,

Verse 5, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God."

And verses 9-11, "Then you will understand what is right and just and fair - every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you."

There will always be some effort we must do, some ifs for the thens to be realized in our lives.

So many of us want to understand without the ifs. But the thens are so worth, so very worth the effort.

Verses 5-6 in the Amplified Bible says, "Then you will understand the [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] and discovering the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives [skillful and godly wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding."

And verse 7, "He stores away sound wisdom for the righteous [those who are in right standing with Him] He is a shield to those who walk in integrity [those of honorable character and moral courage."

And verse 8 (NLT), "He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him."

Just read through the ifs again and see the reality of the thens.There are such great benefits if we do the ifs! Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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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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