Thursday... We really do think we know.

Isaiah 55:8 (NLT), "'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the LORD. 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could have imagined.'"

Thursday... We really do think we know.

We go before God and we pray for something that we know is a real good idea but it doesn't happen the way we think it should happen and we are discouraged. Maybe that is where some of us are today. But we must remember this. Isaiah 55:8 (NLT) says, "'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the LORD. 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could have imagined.'"

Isaiah goes on to say in verse 9, "For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."

There is an example of this over in the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Bible. In chapter 14 verse 19 it says, "Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead." Verse 20, "But as believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe." God knew what he was doing when he reached out to Saul who became Paul on that road to Damascus.

Now the first time we read about Saul was in chapters 7 & 8 of Acts. This was when Stephen became the first martyr. Acts 7:59-60 says, "As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord, Jesus, receive my spirit.' He fell to his knees, shouting, 'Lord, don't charge them with this sin!' And with that He died." That's what happened but verse 57b says, "His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul." And then 8:1 says, "Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen."

Now would we think that Saul who became Paul was going to be called by God to write a big portion of the New Testament and be at the front of reaching the Gentile with the Good News of Jesus? No way. On that road to Damascus he was going there to arrest Christ followers.

The Prophet Isaiah 55:5 (NLT) says way back in the Old Testament of the Bible, "'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the LORD. 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could have imagined.'"

God knew what he needed in a man to do what He needed done after His Son was crucified and taken back into heaven. And the last person we would have thought of was the one that God went after. "They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. But as believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe." Paul also had his own plan about reaching the city of Rome but God had another plan. He put him in prison where he wrote a big portion of the New Testament. God knew what he was doing and He knows what He is doing in our lives today if we put our trust in Him.

We really do think we know but God has a plan and it is the right one. So let's trust Him. He know what He is doing even in our lives. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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 ...

Monday... He did it by Himself

Isaiah 44:24b (AMP), "I am the Lord, Maker of all things. Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself." Monday... He did it by Himself. Many have a tendency to think very highly of themselves and what they can do. Oh we do have great ability but we are not the source. Yes it is important to have self-confidence but we are limited. The prophet Isaiah in 44:9-10 (NLT) says, "How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don't know this, so they are all put to shame. Who but a fool would make his own god - an idol that cannot help him one bit?" Now later in verse 24 (AMP) he writes, "For the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb says, 'I am the Lord, Maker of all things, Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself.'" I love that. "By Myself." Now we do need confidence but we are foolish to ma...

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...

Today's Beginning

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