Thursday... Remembering is so important!

Mark 8:21 (NLT), "'Don't you understand yet?' he asked them."

Thursday... Remembering is so important!

My dad said a lot of different thoughts that have stayed with me, that I have remembered and striven to live by. One of them was, "Too high expectations brings about frustration." Well, Jesus said something to his disciples that seems like he was frustrated with them and I'm sure he could say it about us. Yes, He has grace but also expectations.

Mark 8:21 (NLT) says, "'Don't you understand yet?' he asked them." Now I'm sure it was a way to motivate them but there may have been some frustration in there.

Now Jesus in just a few weeks had done some tremendous miracles. Two of them were feeding over 9,000 people from nothing and then having twelve leftover baskets at one and seven at the other. Well they were out in a boat and the guys were arguing with each other as verse 16 says, "because they hadn't brought any bread."

Verse 17 says, "Jesus knew what they were saying so he said, 'Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don't you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in?'"

He goes on in verses 18-20, "'You have eyes - can't you see? You have ears - can't you hear? Don't you remember anything at all? When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterwards?' 'Twelve', they said. 'And when I fed 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?' 'Seven' they said."

They did remember. And then verse 21, "'Don't you understand yet?' he asked them."

I was in my car headed over to Aspire, a coffee shop where I write and I was feeling some emotions about an important situation in Margaret and my life and it came to me, "Why are you getting so emotional? Don't you remember who is in your life and all he has done before?" And then after I had gotten here and after getting my coffee, I starting reading Mark 8 again in the New Living Translation and read verse 21, "Don't you understand yet?" And verse 18, "You have eyes - can't you see? You have ears - can't you hear? Don't you remember anything at all?"

Oh God, thank you for your Word.

Before I started at home this morning reading my three chapters from the New International Version I had prayed, "Open my eyes to see and open my ears to hear." and he did that.

Yes we need to be reminded that God knows what he is doing and also what he has done in our lives. I want to live up to his expectations because he is working through us in so many ways.

David writes in Psalm 56:3-4, "But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?" And verses 9-10 says, "My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side! I praise God for what he has promised."

O God, may we remember what you have done, what you have promised and who you are? "This I know: God is on my side! I praise God for what he has promised." Remembering is so important! Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Tuesday... I wonder what would happen if we didn't take the credit?

Nehemiah 6:16b (NLT), "They realized this work had been done with the help of our God." Tuesday... I wonder what would happen if we didn't take the credit? Over in the Old Testament in the book of Nehemiah it tells of a major task that through the leadership of Nehemiah was accomplished. The walls of Jerusalem had been torn down and God had laid it on Nehemiah to build those walls back up. It was definitely an almost impossible task but Nehemiah 6:15-16 says, "So on October 2 the wall was finished - just fifty-two days after we had begun. When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God." Now, we so many times want to take credit for doing the impossible. It would make such a difference for us. But I wonder what would happen through us if God got the credit? Psalm 96 tells us what we are to do. Verses 2-3 says, "Sing to the LORD; praise his name. ...

Thursday... Maybe we need this word today.

Psalm 57:1b (NIRV), "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Thursday... Maybe we need this word today. There are words in life that give us confidence no matter what we are facing. Now we have to believe them in order for them to have an impact. David wrote Psalm 57 while he was in a cave hiding from Saul who wanted to kill him and he says in the last part of verse 1, "There I will stay." It was a safe place and Saul didn't know that he was there. But he doesn't stop there. With confidence he said, "There I will stay until." And until is definitely a word of faith and confidence. "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Do we need that today? Let me give you the whole verse. In verse 1 David says, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." And that is a great place to start in times of trouble. Maybe that is what we need to pray today, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." It is so great to have someone...

Tuesday... We just have trouble listening.

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Tuesday... We just have trouble listening. Over in Jeremiah 25:4 (NLT) it says, "Again and again the LORD has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention." And Jeremiah went on to tell what was going to happen. There will be consequences if we do not listen to what God says through his Word. Now the Apostle Paul over in 1 Corinthians was having a problem with some professed Christ followers who were having trouble at listening. And we too can have problems at listening. We can think that being a Christ follower means we do a lot of finger pointing and we give up on people who don't do what we say. We can even do that in our families. But Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." In verse ...

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