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

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 ...

Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute.

Proverbs 19:2 (NLT), "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute. This time of the year is so exciting. We get our paycheck from work and then we head to the store or Amazon and buy and buy and buy all those presents and then our check is gone Proverbs 19:2 (NLT) says, "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." But buying gifts can be so much fun and seeing how happy they are when opening those presents makes us feel so good. But then verse 3 says, "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then they are angry at the Lord." Now for some that is their life. They get money and they spend it on their wants with no thought of what needs to be paid. An important lesson that we have learned is just because you have money in the bank doesn't mean you must spend it. But our enthusiasm takes over. But the problem is when it is gone and there is no money to pay th...

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