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

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...

Today's Beginning

Search This Blog