Today's Beginning

Psalms 119:34 (AMP), "Give me understanding [a teachable heart and the ability to learn], that I may keep Your law; and observe it with all my heart." Friday... I wonder what that means. We face situations in life and we wonder why they are there. Did I cause it? Was it from something that I did? Or was it from God? Or did it just happen? Now the writer of Psalm 119 give so much good advice. Now it is so easy to come to this Psalm and decide to skipt it. I mean, it has 176 verses. It is the longest chapter in the Bible but it is organized in a way that we don't need to read it all at one time. But some of us don't have the patience so we skit it if we are striving to read all the Psalms. But if we do then we will miss verse 34 and it may be exactly what we need. Here is what it says, "Give me understanding [a teachable heart and the ability to learn], that I may keep Your law; and observe it with all my heart." What about what you are going through right now...

Proverbs 29:6 (AMP), "By his wicked plan an evil man is trapped, but the righteous man sings and rejoices [for his plan brings good things]."  Thursday... This is the way to good things. The writer of Proverbs in 29:6 (AMP), says, "By his wicked plan an evil man is trapped, but the righteous man sings and rejoices [for his plan brings good things]." And so many people in their lives are trapped. They really are. And they don't get out of the trap. Now in his first letter to the young Timothy, Paul says in 4:4 (NLT), "Since everything God created is good, we should not reject it but receive it with thanks." And in verse 7 he says, "Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives' tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly." But so many think that is a waste of time. Verse 8 says, "Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life to come." Now physical training is go...

Psalms 118:5-6 ((AMP), "Out of my distress I called on the LORD; The LORD answered me and set me free. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can [mere] man do to me?"  Wednesday... Is this what we need for today? We are getting close to a midterm election here in the USA and all we hear and see is how much we need these people to take care of us. And for sure we don't need those other people. Yes, there is a whole lot of negativity going on so this is what we need for today. Here is what the writer of Psalms 118 (AMP) says to us. Verses 5-6 says, "Out of my distress I called on the LORD; The LORD answered me and set me free. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can [mere] man do to me?" Vese 6 says, "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can [mere] man do to me?" I think we need to hear that today. But the evil one doesn't want us to hear it, to read it. No, we can't avoid hearing all that the Republicans and Democrats ...

Proverbs 27:2 (NLT) says, "Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth - a stranger, not your own lips." Tuesday... Low self-esteem has some real benefits. I heard Jay Leno say in an interview that he had low self-esteem. He said that as a comedian it is a good thing. How a crowd responses to him doesn't make a difference. It doesn't get him down. And that made sense to me. We constantly are told that we need high self-esteem and for people without Christ I can see how that can help them in handling life but we have Christ, we have God. He is our source. He is who we depend upon. And in anything we do He is to get the credit. He is to get the praise. Now Proverbs 27:2 (NLT) says, "Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth - a stranger, not your own lips." But it is so easy for us to always be praising ourselves for what we do. Like it is all because of our talents, our abilities. So where do our abilities, our talents come from? They came from God ...

Psalms 116:2 (NIRV), "Because he paid attention to me, I will call out to him as long as I live." Monday... Do you remember what it was like to be in Middle School? Those were tough days. We were looking for others who would pay attention to us. We just weren't sure who we were. Am I still a kid or am I growing up? Will somebody pay attention to me, affirm me? Now we are not an adolescent any more but that still could be true of us. We still want somebody to pay attention to us, to affirm us. Well, the Psalmist says in Psalm 116:2 (NIRV), "Because he paid attention to me, I will call out to him as long as I live." Now that is such good news. Back when we were in Middle School that could be dangerous and the same can be true now so this is a very important verse for today. "Because he paid attention to me, I will call out to him as long as I live." Verses 1 and 2 says, "I love the LORD, because he heard my voice. He heard my cry for help. Because h...

Psalms 113:5-6 (NLT), "Who can be compared with the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high? He stoops to look down on heaven and earth." Friday... He really does care about what is going on. I know we can get to a place in life where we feel we are a success. And we can get to the place that we feel that we are better than anyone else. We may look down on people. Now Psalms 113:5 (NLT) says, "Who can be compared with the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high?" And that is true. None of us can compare to God and he looks down on us. But it is way different than people who think they are better than us, who look down on us. Verse 6 says, "He stoops to look down on heaven and earth." And that is a way different stooping than a lot of people around us who think they are better than us. Without a doubt none of us compare to God. Yes, he definitely is better than us and his stooping means that he really cares about us and what we are doing. The Amplified Bible ...

Psalms 112:1 (NIV), "Praise the LORD. Blessed are those who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands."  Thursday... Look at this. The Psalmist in 112:1 (NIV) gives some great encouragement to those who fear the LORD and who delight in following what he commands. He writes, "Praise the LORD. Blessed are those who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands." Now there are two words in there that are important words. One is "Blessed" and the other is "fear". So what do they mean here in the Bible? Now the Amplified Bible translation gives some more details. It says, "Praise the LORD (Hallelujah!) Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who fears the LORD [with awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with obedience], who delights in His commandments." The New International Version says "who find great delight in his commands." Now step back and ponder what blessed and fear means to th...

Psalms 111:2 (NLT), "How amazing are the deeds of the LORD! All who delight in him should ponder them." Wednesday... This would truly make a daily difference. There really are actions that we could do each day that would make a definite difference in our day. Let me ask you, how do you wake up each morning? Good morning Lord or good Lord it's morning. Same words but put in a different order with a totally different attitude. Now the first thing I do when I wake up and after I clean up and put on my clothes is to get my water and my coffee and my Bible and read a Psalm of the day. Today, I read Psalm 111 and in verse 2 it says, "How amazing are the deeds of the LORD! All who delight in him should ponder them." And the word that jumped out at me was the word ponder. I delight in the LORD because I ponder his amazing deeds.' Now for many the first thing they do is check the internet and all of the negative in the world. That's how they wake up. They ponder ...

1 Thessalonians 5:14b (NLT), "Be patient with everyone." Tuesday... Such good and practical advice. Paul gives such good and practical advice here in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 14. Now encouragement has different meanings for different times and different situations. There are encouraging words in the Bible that lift us up when we are going through tough times but it also means to be encouraged to do better, to try a different approach. And this verse is the second encouragement. 1 Thessalonians 5:14b encourages us to "Be patient with everyone." and that is a great encouragement but it is interesting what he says in the beginning of this verse. Now you see after you have read the beginning of this verse why he would say, "Be patient with everyone." Here is what it encourages us to do. He says, "Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak." And then "...

Proverbs 19:11 (NLT), "Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs." Monday... This really makes sense. It is so easy to be out there being angry at all the wrongs around us. But the problem is, we are doing it in other people instead of in ourselves. We get so angry with other people but Proverbs 19:11 (NLT) says, "Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs." And that really does make sense. I am a retired minister and in reality I can be hard to live with. It is so easy for me to constantly be pointing out wrongs in others and getting angry but that doesn't really make sense. It is better to live as an example. Have you noticed that if I point my finger at someone else there are three fingers pointing back at me? Yes, in reality we need to be overlooking wrongs instead of getting angry. Now we are in midterm elections here in the USA and there is a lot of anger going on. "Sensible people...

Psalms 106:2 (N:LT), "Who can list the glorious miracles of the LORD? Who can ever praise him enough?" Friday... So we can try and see what happens. Now there are lists that we are really good at making. I mean, we can really list our needs, can't we? And the LORD wants us to bring them to Him. He says so over and over. But we also need to strive to remember the glorious miracles of the LORD in our life and that will lift us in our hope and our faith in times of difficulty. And Paul needed that. Over in 1 Thessalonians 3 the writer of this letter, Paul was going through troubles himself and he was worried about how the new Christians in Thessalonica were handling the troubles they were going through so he sent Timothy to find out. Now Paul was definitely a man of faith. He could make a list of times that God had brought him through trouble but he was concerned about these new Christians in Thessalonica. And verse 6 says, "But now Timothy has just returned, bringing u...

1 Thessalonians 2:18 (NLT). "We wanted very much to come to you, and I Paul, tried again and again, but Satan prevented us." Thursday... He thinks he is so smart. And we think we know what is best. Now the Apostle Paul had a great desire. In 1 Thessalonians 2:18 (NLT), he writes, "We wanted very much to come to you, and I Paul, tried again and again." We are too many times controlled by our wants and they may be good wants. We think we know best and we come to God with these wants, and we don't hear from him so we think it is Him not letting them happen. Yes, we blame God for a lot of our disappointments. But I really wanted it. Paul really wanted to see his friends in Thessalonica. In verse 2 he says, "You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition." In verse 8 he says, "We loved you s...

Psalms 104:10-11 (NLT), "You make springs pour water into the ravines, so streams gush down the mountains. They provide water for all the animals, and the wild donkeys quench their thirst." Wednesday... Does this fact make any difference to you? There is so much in the Bible that really does make a difference but when we don't read it we lose the potential encouragement. That is what I strive to do each morning. I find a verse and share it as an encouragement to people who need it for that day. Now Psalms 104:10-11 (NLT) says, "You make springs pour water into the ravines, so streams gush down the mountains. They provide water for all the animals, and the wild donkeys quench their thirst." Does this fact make any difference to you? Now my wife and I and our daughter and her family live in the Mojave Desert. We live in Las Vegas, Nevada. Now there are these wild donkeys who live in the desert. We call then burros. They were left here when prospectors quit looking...

Colossians 4:2 (NLT), "Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart." Tuesday... So what prayer is all about? Yes, the Apostle Paul knows what prayer is all about and here in chains he writes in Colossians 4:2 (NLT), "Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart." Yes in prayer we are talking to God so be alert and thankful. Yes, God is who we are talking to when we pray. Now verse 3 is very interesting. He writes, "Pray for us too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ." He starts with, "Pray for us too." So what we would want others to pray for us too? Understand, we are asking them to talk to God. Yes it is important for us to be alert and also to be thankful. We are talking to God. So what did Paul ask them to pray for? Now the whole verse says, "Pray for us too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan...

Psalms 102:2 (NLT), "Don't turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly, when I call to you." Monday... He really wants us to be honest. I really love the honesty of the Psalms. Psalms 102 is a prayer of someone who is overwhelmed with trouble, and they are pouring out their problems before the LORD. Could that be some of us today? Now verse 1 (NLT) starts out by saying. "LORD, hear my prayer! Listen to my plea!" And maybe that is where some of us need to start. Just be honest. We need God. We need help. The Psalmist goes on in verse 2, "Don't turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly, when I call to you." We are in distress and we need help right now. Have you ever been in a situation that you can't handle but your pride gets in the way and so many times we turn to other things instead of God. Colossians 3:5 says, "So put to death the sinful, earthly things...

Colossians 2:3 (NLT), "In him lie all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Friday... Yes, we can know him. There is so much for us to know. We have unlimited potential and who we know makes such a difference. The Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 2:3 (NLT), "In him lie all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Yes, that is really a great friend to know. Now Colossians is a letter from Paul to the church in Colosse. They were having some trouble with outsiders coming in and trying to convince them that they needed to change what they believed and Paul is counteracting what these outsiders are saying. In verses 1-2 he says, "I want you to know how much I agonized for you and for your church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan, which is Christ himself." And ver...

Colossians 1:22a (NLT), "Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body." Thursday... Yet, now this is true. Now Paul a prisoner in Rome is writing a letter to a church in Colossae. And in Colossians 1:21 (MSG) he says, "Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds" The NLT says "This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated by your evil thoughts and actions." And that is where so many in this world live today. They are blowing it and they don't know what to do. Yes, they are hostile in their minds and they are engaging in evil deeds but there is Good News. Now Paul in verses 19-20 sets the stage for an answer to those who don't want to live that way. He says, "For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and earth b...

Philippians 4:6 (NIRV), "Don't worry about anything. No matter what happens, tell God about everything. Ask and pray, and give thanks to him." Wednesday... But there is more to it. Our mind is a tremendous thing. There is so much that it can do but there is more to controlling situations than just using our mind. The Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:6 (NIRV) says, "Don't worry about anything." Now that is where a lot of people stop. "I'm not going to worry. I can handle this." But there is more to it. Paul writes while a prisoner, "Don't worry about anything. No matter what happens, tell God about everything. Ask and pray, and give thanks to him." The NLT says, "Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." Now he does say later in verses 8b-9, "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. T...

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. ...

Psalms 95:3 (AMP), "For the LORD is a great God and a great King above all gods." Monday... For many we've had our break but we need more. The weekend is over and it's Monday and a new work week and it can be tough to get up and get out. So here is a fact to dwell on as we start this new day, this new week. Psalms 95:3 (AMP) says, "For the LORD is a great God and a great King above all gods." Now it doesn't stop there. Verses 4-5 says, "In whose hand are the depths of the earth; the peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for He made it [by His command]; and His hands formed the dry land." So what are we facing today? Can we handle it alone or do we need help? Verse 7a (NLT) says, "for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care." Yes, God has what it takes to take care of what we are facing and we need to be reminded of that fact. But the problem is found in the last part of verse 7, "...

Psalms 92:4 (AMP), "For You, O Lord, have made me glad by Your works; at the works of your hands I joyfully sing." Friday... He really does do great works. Have we ever stopped and thought about how hard a job it is to be GOD? It should really make us glad at all He has done and is doing in our lives. How horrible would it be to have a job with taking care of people who constantly blow it. Who never really do their work as we need them to do it? hard work Psalms 92:4 (AMP) says "For You, O Lord, have made me glad by Your works; at the works of your hands I joyfully sing." Yes, we really do need to appreciate and be glad at all the works that God personally does for us. Verse 5 says, "How great are Your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep [beyond man's understanding]" It is so easy at our work to constantly complain about all that happens around us. What if God did that with us? Paul over in Ephesians 6:7-8 (NLT) says, "Work with enthusiasm,...

Ephesians 5:8 (NLT), "For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!" Thursday... It is what we are looking for. Every morning at 6:30 am I go out on our back patio and sit in my adirondack chair and look out on the mountains right across the 215 and read that days three chapters from my NIV Bible. Today the Sun wasn't totally shining yet on those mountains but after I had finished my reading I looked up and those mountains were totally lit up by the morning sun and it really emotionally hit me. Margaret and I are going through a time of wonder and we are searching for God's light on what is ahead for us and that light on those mountains hit me. Yes, God in His time will light up what we are to do. I went back and read through my chapters again in the NLT as I do every morning and I came on this verse in Ephesians 5:8 which says, "For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So li...