Thursday... He really does and he really will.

Psalm 149:4-5 (NLT), "For the LORD delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them. Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds."

Thursday... He really does and he really will.

This is such a great reality that makes all the difference. Psalm 149:4-5 (NLT) says, "For the LORD delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them. Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds."

Yes, yes, God delights in his people. He really does. He, the Lord takes pleasure in his people. Now that is a great way to wake up every morning but it is also great when we go to bed each night with that thought going through our heads.

Now my mom was so special. She was a great mom for Connie, Larry and Bill, that's me. But she did one thing that some would say wasn't good. Now it was to me. As a young boy it didn't have a negative affect, it was a positive. Here is what she did, every night she would pray for each one of us and then we would sing a song. Now the song said, "Now I lay be down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen!"

Now the protectors of the world would say that is a horrible song for kids to sing before they went to sleep but to those who are preparers it refinfored an important reality. It was not a negative to me. It was only later in my life that I found out that is wasn't a good thing to do as a parent. But it holds a warm feeling to me as an adult. The Psalmist says, "Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them. Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds."

Now there is another reality that is important for us to realize. I am also reading the last book in the Bible, Revelation which shows what the judgement will be like for those who are not followers of God and who hate him and his followers. It is not a pretty story and that is why I spend time everyday of my retirement striving to tell people, "For the LORD delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them. Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds."

Yes, we have a choice and I'm glad my mom reinforced that choice to me as a child. Now I know we live in different days and we didn't sing that song to our kids. But we reinforced this reality in different ways.

Now my dad was a traveling evangelist when it was just the four of us. And at the end of each service in different churches all over the nation my dad as I got older would have me come up during a time of invitation and lead at least two different songs, Pass Me Not or Almost Persuaded. Now that is not done today. But it was effective then. We had people come down to an altar and kneel and ask God to come into their heart, into their life. The way we do it now is different but doing it has the same result. Each of us as individuals need to ask Jesus to come into our lives, to give our lives to Him. And the results are amazing. "For the LORD delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them. Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds."

Yes, choosing to be a follower of Christ by giving our lives to Him really does makes all the difference in the now and the later on. And yes it is our choice. Just say, "Lord, I give you my life" and then share what you did with someone. 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 ...

Wednesday... It is amazing what we can see.

Psalm 3:3a (NLT), "But you, O LORD, are a shield around me." Wednesday... It is amazing what we can see. And what we see does make such a difference in our day. Now David, he writer of Psalm 3 starts this Psalm this way. He says in verse 1 (NLT), "O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me." Yes, he is saying this to the LORD, the one he serves. Verse 2 says, "So many are saying, 'God will never rescue him!'" And that is so true with that outlook. So many of us get out of bed with that outlook every morning. It is amazing what we can see. Now I woke up this morning and eventually found myself outside on my couch with my Bible and I read this outlook in verses 1-2 from David. But I didn't stop there and neither did David. But that is an easy place to stop, isn't it? And it is true. Yes, David didn't stop there. Verses 3-4 says, "But you, O LORD, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. I...

Today's Beginning

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