Thursday... Yes, it does make a difference.

Psalms 17:6 (NLT), "I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray."

Thursday... Yes, it does make a difference.

Have you found that prayer makes a difference? Well, it depends upon who you are praying to. Psalms 17:6 (NLT) says, "I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray."

David goes on and says in verses 7-8 (AMP), "Wondrously show Your [marvelous and amazing] lovingkindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand from those who rise up against them. Keep me [in Your affectionate care, protect me] as the apple of Your eyes; hide me in the [protective] shadow of Your wings." The NLT says, "Guard me as you would guard your own eyes."

Do you need to pray a prayer like that today? Are you in the middle of a storm? Again, have you found that prayer makes a difference?

Over in Luke 8 there were these guys who were in a boat and Jesus, God's Son was in the boat with them. Verse 23 says, "As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger."

Now Jesus was in the boat. Yes, he was taking a nap but he was in the boat. This is important for us to see. If we have a relationship with God then he is in our boat. I'm sure there were other boats sailing in this storm but there was only one boat that had Jesus in it. These guys were followers of Jesus, they had a relationship with Jesus but he was taking a nap.

Verse 24a says, "The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, 'Master, Master, we're going to drown." In other words they were in the midst of a storm and they emphatically prayed. Prayer is connecting with God. They woke him up, shouting. And maybe you also feel like shouting. You too are in real danger and you too have a relationship with God then he is in your boat so pray. Because he was in the boat they knew he was going to answer but we also need to realize that he is in our boat, our life. And as David said, "I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray."

Verse 24 goes on. "When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm." And verse 25 says, "Then he asked them, 'Where is your faith?' The disciples were terrified and amazed. 'Who is this man?' they asked each other. 'When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!'"

These guys were at the beginning of their relationship with Jesus. They hadn't seen all that Jesus was going to do. In this chapter, Luke tells of his healing a demon-possessed man, a woman who had suffered constant bleeding for twelve years was healed by her deliberately reaching out and touching the fringe of his robe and then Jesus also raised a twelve year old daughter from the dead because of the faith of her parents. Yes, reaching out and connecting with God through faith will make a difference.

God wants to show through pray his marvelous and amazing lovingkindness, and that we are the apple of his eye. We really matter to him and connecting to him by faith really does make a difference. So as David says, "I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray." And he will if you have him in your boat so just ask him to get in. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do

Psalm 8:3-4 (NLT), "When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars you set in place - what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?" Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do. No, not the fact that I can go out my front door and look out at night at the marvels of the sky. I can do that and it is amazing and it takes my breath away each time I see it. Yes, that is a fact but the reality of who did that and the wisdom and the faith that I have to believe that and to marvel that the one who did that cares about me makes such a difference in how I live my life. Yes, God really does. That is so wonderful for us to believe. And that is why faith and wisdom are so important. Now whatever belief you have at how that marvel happened must also be believed through faith. And the sad thing to me is that more and more people have been taught that there is no God and therefore he did not have a h...

Wednesday... Our unless can turn into useless.

Wednesday... Our unless can turn into useless. It really can. I have found that unless I give the correct email of my wife then I can't get what I wanted. I put an extra i in her email and I have been working for 5 days to get it changed. Unless has been useless. The writer of Psalm 94 uses this word and shows how important it is. Verses 17-19 (NLT) says, "Unless the Lord had helped me, I would have soon settled in the silence of the grave. I cried out, 'I'm slipping!' but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer." "Unless the Lord had helped me." So many people go on and on and on striving to live their life on their own but they keep slipping and doubting and living without hope and cheer. Yes the Lord has such unfailing love for us, he really does but unless we have a relationship with him and we turn to him and ask him for help then the unless turns in to useless because h...

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

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 i f 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 Ampli...

Todays Beginning

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