Today's Beginning

Psalm 143:8 (NLT), "Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk for I give myself to you." Friday... We want to be ready. We have no idea what is ahead but God does. So we need to spend time with Him to get ready. King David writes in Psalm 143:8 (NLT), "Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk for I give myself to you." And a Psalm every morning is a great place to start. You see, we need to know today that we are loved with an unfailing love. The Evil One knows what we need so he does all he can to keep us from getting it. I think one of the real bad things about Covid was that we couldn't be close to each other. I mean, we couldn't even get a hug. At the beginning, my wife and I both got it but Margaret was in the hospital and I couldn't be with her. That was so difficult. We couldn't be together and for sure we couldn't give each other a hug...

Psalm 142:3 (NLT), "When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go my enemies set traps for me." Thursday... There are so many different personalities. There really are. And our tendency is to build up who we are and put down those who are different but I believe God sees and accepts each one of us in our differences. The writer of the book of Psalms, David was a man after God's own heart and he was a musician and a warrior and usually those don't go together. Yes, David was unique but so are you and I and probably your mate is different from you. Yes, God made us unique and He really does love each one of us.  Yes, David wrote a big portion of the Psalms and it shows his uniqueness. Psalm 142:3 (NLT) says,  "When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go my enemies set traps for me." Now, there are some who would say that they don't understand how that feels. They are never overwhelmed and they nev...

Proverbs 21:1 (NLT), "The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he guides it wherever he pleases." Wednesday... God's timing and direction is the way to go. Last night as Margaret and I were headed on Interstate 11 to a birthday meal for Andrew our son-in-law we went by a place that Margaret had worked for 15 years. And it came to me how God had worked it all out for her to work there and the difference it has made in our lives. Our life it seemed is all about God's timing and directing and our following. Proverbs 21:1 (NLT) says, "The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he guides it wherever he pleases." And our life it seems is like a wandering stream. We've lived in Colorado three different times. We moved back to Las Vegas from Colorado this last time. Now we loved to explore in the mountains. We love following the streams from where we could step across them and then follow them as they got so ...

Psalm 140:7 (NLT), "O Sovereign LORD, the strong one who rescued me, you protected me on the day of battle." Tuesday... Do we really appreciate Him? King David is the writer of a big portion of the Psalms and he starts many of them with the fact that he was in  great trouble. Now Paul who was the writer of a big portion of the New Testament said in Acts 13:22, "But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, 'I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.'" Now maybe the reason why God said that about him was because of the way David handled trouble David in Psalm 140:7 (NLT) says, "O Sovereign LORD, the strong one who rescued me, you protected me on the day of battle." David really appreciate God because He over and over rescued him from trouble after trouble. Verses 1-2 of Psalm 140 says, "O LORD, rescue me from evil people, protect me from those who are violent...

Psalm 139:3b (AMP), "And you are intimately acquainted with all my ways." Monday... You really do know us. Psalm 139:3b (AMP) says, "And you are intimately acquainted with all my ways." I'm not sure why this jumped out at me this morning but it did. Relationships are so very important for us. We each one need people in our lives, who really know us and accept us. We don't need a lot of friends but we need a few. Proverbs 18:24 (AMP) says, "The man of too many friends [chosen indiscriminately} will be broken in pieces and come to ruin, but there is a [true, loving] friend who [is reliable and] sticks closer than a brother." That really is important for us to know. Again Psalm 139:3b (AMP) says, "And you are intimately acquainted with all my ways." Now verse 1 (NLT) says, "O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me." Margaret, my wife definitely knows me better than anyone else and she has stayed with me for o...

Psalm 136:1 (AMP), "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever." Friday... There is a thought today that everyone should be rewarded the same. Psalm 136:1 is a great reminder of two things. Every verse starts with the fact that we need to "Give thanks to God" and ends with the fact that "His loving kindness endures forever." Everyone of the 26 verses reiterates that we are to "Give thanks to God" and for us to know and believe that we will be given a chance to be rewarded because of God's loving kindness and that is the truth. Now I also read in Proverbs 16:2, "All the ways of a man are clean and innocent in his own eyes [and he may see nothing wrong with his actions], but the Lord weighs and examines the motives and intents [of the heart and knows the truth]." He lets us know that truth because of His loving kindness. And then I also read Revelation 9:20-21 (NLT...

Revelation 8:4 (NLT), "The smoke of the incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God's people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne." Thursday... Our prayers really do make a difference. There are things we do in life that we hope makes a difference. Well, John from his vision of heaven and the end times says in Revelation 8:4 (NLT), "The smoke of the incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God's people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne." Yes, our prayers will make it to the gold altar before the throne. Now we worry about the judgement part of the throne so this is a real encouragement. Our prayers as God's people will make it to the gold altar before the throne. Verse 3 in the Amplified Bible says, "Another angel came and stood at the altar. He had a golden censer and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints (God's people) on the golden altar in...

Proverbs 14:22 (NLT) says, "If you plan to do evil, you will be lost; if you plan to do good, you will receive unfailing love and faithfulness." Wednesday... Having the right plan is the place to start. It really is. Proverbs 14:22 (NLT) says, "If you plan to do evil, you will be lost; if you plan to do good, you will receive unfailing love and faithfulness." Yes, having the right plan is the place to start. Verse 22 in the Amplified Bible says, "Do they not go astray who devise evil and wander from the way of righteousness? But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good." Yes, there is an end result depending on our plan so that is the place to start. What do we want out of our life? Verse 2 says, "He who walks in uprightness [reverently] fears the Lord [and obeys and worships Him with profound respect]. but he who is devious in his ways despise Him." The NLT gets right to the point, "Those who follow the right path fear the LORD; ...

Proverbs 13:12 (NLT), "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life." Tuesday... Yes it is coming! What or who are we putting our hope into to give us victory? At the beginning of the NFL season there was a team that everyone said was going to be the great team for this football season. The Green Bay Packers fans were so excited, they had a lot of hope. We are now at the beginning of the playoffs and the Packers looked like they were going to continue their run but then came the fourth quarter and the Chicago Bears came back and won so the Packers fans' hope was gone and of course they were sick. My Pastor just came into the coffee shop and we talked about that game. He is a Bears' fan so he is excited. His hope is still alive. Now I am a major sports fan but after all these years I have learned to not put my hope into my teams winning. Oh I used to get sick and get in a bad mood when my team lost but I finally realized that I had no con...

Proverbs 12:15 (NLT), "Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others." Monday... So where do I go? Yes, where do you go when you need advice? Proverbs 12:15 (NLT) says, "Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others." The Amplified Bible says Proverbs 12:15 this way, "The way of the [arrogant] fool [who rejects God's wisdom] is right in his own eyes, but a wise and prudent man is he who listens to counsel." Now that is so easy for us all to do. We are smart, we have experience, we've made wise decisions before but it still is important to stop and seek out God's wisdom. There is a reason why God has given us the Bible, there is a reason why he has given us Godly people in our lives, why he has given us the Holy Spirit, and why he has given us as Christ-followers direct access to God through his son, Jesus. There is a reason why we cultivate a channel to God through prayer, reading the Bible, going to chur...

Proverbs 9:12 (NIRV), "If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you. If you make fun of others, you alone will suffer." Friday... If can be such an important word in our life. It is so easy to put people down, isn't it? We think that is the way to build us up, but is it? Proverbs 9:12 (NIRV) says, "If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you. If you make fun of others, you alone will suffer." And there are two ifs in there and it is so important for us to listen to them. Now the writer writes in verses 10-11 another if. It says, "If you want to become wise, you must begin by respecting the Lord. To know the Holy One is to gain understanding. Through wisdom, you will live a long time. Years will be added to your life." That is definitely a reward. The Amplified Bible says verses 10-12 this way, "The [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom [its start...

Proverbs 8:1-2 (NIRV), "Doesn't wisdom call out? Doesn't understanding raise her voice? At the highest point along the way, she takes her place where the paths meet." Thursday... So what do we do? Which path do we take? So what do you do? Is it all on you? I love the time that I spend each morning in my Bible. I have read a Psalm everyday for years and in a systematic way I read the Proverbs and then I read a chapter in the New Testament. Each one has its place in my walk through life. Now the Proverbs definitely has a place when making a decision and we are making some important decisions at a key time in our life. Today is January 8 so I read Proverbs 8 and it started this way. Verses 1-2 (NIRV) says, "Doesn't wisdom call out? Doesn't understanding raise her voice? At the highest point along the way, she takes her place where the paths meet." That "where the paths meet" is a great place for wisdom. The Amplified Bible says, "Does not...

Revelation 2:3 (NIRV), "You have been faithful and have put up with a lot because of me. You have not given up" Wednesday... Yes, we can be connected with someone who knows. And that can be good and that can be bad especially if it is someone who really matters to us. My wife and I know each other. We have been married for 51 years. We have been through a lot but I have also been connected with someone a lot longer who really does knows it all. I am reading now the book of Revelation. It is the last book in the Bible and it was written by John while he was a prisoner on the island of Patmos. While he was on this island he received a vision from Jesus and he was told to write what he saw and experienced in that vision. Now it was sent to the seven cities in the Roman province of Asia Minor. And it begins with words of warning and encouragement for each of those seven churches. Chapter 2:1b starts by saying, "Here are the words of Jesus." Yes, he was the one who knows...

Psalm 126:3 (NIRV), "The Lord has done great things for us. And we are filled with joy." Tuesday... Remembering has power, confidence and motivation in it. There are times when we are facing, it seems the impossible and we are discouraged. And then there are times when we are facing the impossible with power, confidence and motivation. And I have found that remembering has a great impact on how we face what we are facing. Psalm 126:1 (NIRV) says, "Our enemies took us away from Zion but when the Lord brought us home, it seemed like a dream." I love that! I love that! He goes on, "Our mouths were filled with laughter. Our tongues sang with joy." You see they remembered how God worked in their lives and verse 3 says, "The Lord has done great things for us. And we are filled with joy." Stopping to remember has power, confidence and motivation when God is in our lives. Now verses 4-6 are very important for us to see the part that we have in what we ar...

Psalm 125:4 (NLT), "O LORD, do good to those who are good, whose hearts are in tune with you." Monday... It makes all the difference. Over in the Psalms in 125:4 (NLT) it says, "O LORD, do good to those who are good, whose hearts are in tune with you." Over in Proverbs 4:23 it says, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." Having our heart in tuned with God really does make all the difference in how we handle life. Jude wrote a letter at the end of the New Testament. Now Jude says in 1:1 (NIRV), "I Jude, am writing this letter. I serve Jesus Christ. I am the brother of James." Now, understand what that means. Jude was also the human brother of Jesus. So what would have happened to him and his life if he would have said and believed in his heart that no way was Jesus who he said he was. That would have messed up his whole life but he settled in his heart that Jesus was who he said he was and Jude said, "I ...

3 John 1:13-14 (NLT), "I have so much more to say to you, but I don't want to write it with pen and ink. For I hope to see you soon and then we'll talk face to face." Friday... But our wants are not always for the best. I am reading in the Psalms and in the Proverbs. And the Proverbs are all about wisdom, the importance of being wise. Proverbs 2:2 (NLT) says, "Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding." Yes, it is so important to have wisdom and understanding and we can carry that over into our wants. I am also reading the three letters of John. It is important to see that John wrote these while he was at the church of Ephesus where he lived and was ministering. Now John is the only Apostle who died a natural death but he also was a prisoner on the Isle of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation. Now John was wise and I know he had understanding. He had walked with Jesus and he was known as the beloved but here in this last letter he wr...