Thursday... We are so good at making plans.

Romans 15:24-25 (NLT), "I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey. But before I come, I must go to Jerusalem to take a gift to the believers there."

Thursday... We are so good at making plans.

But, and that is such an important word. But.

Here Paul was writing this letter to the church in Rome. He says in Romans 15:24-25 (NLT), "I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey. But before I come, I must go to Jerusalem to take a gift to the believers there."

He was laying it all out what he was planning on doing but and you must go back to the book of Acts which was written by Luke after this letter that Paul wrote to the church in Rome. Luke tells that Paul's trip to Jerusalem took him a total different direction. It didn't take God by surprise but it was different from what Paul was planning.

Now Margaret and I started 2024 with plans that for sure changed. We had built a house with plans of staying in it for years to come. I had problems the first day we moved in because I was used to moving but we had made plans to stay for a long time. But our life changed.

This is important to see. Psalm 127:1-2 (NIRV) says, "If the Lord doesn't build a house, the work of the builders is useless. If the Lord doesn't watch over a city, it's useless for you to work from early morning until late at night just to get food to eat. God provides for those he loves even while they sleep."

Listen, it's not all on us. God has a plan and he will take care of us. He can be trusted and for sure we need to trust him. Yes, God will take care of us, "God provides for those he loves even while they sleep."

Yes, Paul had a plan but God had another one. Yes going to Rome was God's plan but Paul saw it as a drop off place on his way to Spain. But God's plan was different. You see, on his trip to Jerusalem which all of his friends told him wasn't safe but he didn't take their advice because Paul had a plan. Now God's plan was for Paul to minster as a prisoner all the way to Rome where he finished his life as a prisoner but who wrote a big portion of the New Testament while there as a prisoner.

Listen, God knows what he is doing. He has a plan.

All through his ministry on earth, Jesus kept telling his disciples that he was going to be killed but after three days would be resurrected. His disciples had other plans. Now even Jesus prayed right before he was going to be arrested for other plans. But God knew what he was doing. And he has a plan for our lives.

Yes, 2024 and the first part of 2025 have been different from what we had planned. But we know that God is a part of our life and that he knows what he is doing and h will take care of us, he will provide for us.

We sometimes head off in our direction but God has a way of bringing us to his desired plan. Yes, we are definitely in a different place than we had planed but God knows what he is doing and "God provides for those he loves even while they sleep." Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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 ...

Friday... So what is it that you really fear?

1 Corinthians 15:57 (NLT), "But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ." Friday... So what is it that you really fear? Yes, fear holds us back. It seems to take hold of us so that we can't even really enjoy living. Now I have found that one of the best ways to handle fear is to solve the problem of what we fear. Let's say that death is what we really fear. Everyday we wake up afraid to get up because we are afraid to do anything because we are afraid to die. And that is so understandable. Now I have found the solution to fearing death. I have through faith taken care of my fear to die. 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NLT) says, "But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ." Verse 22 (CEV) says, "Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us." Death was not God's plan. Adam was created for an eternal life but he and his partner, Eve blew it and sin a...

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