Today's Beginning

Tuesday... Yes He did, and yes He does! I sat down at my Starbucks this morning and looked out the window and there they were. The mountains have a little snow on them. And then I started reading and Psalm 148:5 (MSG) said, "He spoke the word, and there they were!" There they are. God did that. Yes He did, yes He did! Verse 6 says, "He set them in place from all time to eternity; He gave his orders."   He goes on, verses 8-12 says, "Fire and hail, snow and ice, hurricanes obeying his orders; Mountains and all hills, apple orchards and cedar forests; Wild beasts and herds of cattle, snakes, and birds in flight; Earth kings and all races, leaders and important people, robust men and women in their prime, and yes, graybeards and little children." And yes, "graybeards and little children." I am a graybeard. That's me. That's me. There are some times that we need to just stop and realize Who He is and what He has done. Verses 5-6 (NLT) says, ...

Monday... We do so much to get it but do we really want it?  Do we really want attention? Do clothes, color and styling our hair get it? What about our talent, our abilities? We do so much for attention, don't we?  Well the writer of Psalms 147 thought it was what people wanted so in verse 11a (MSG) he writes. "Those who fear God get God's attention." Oh I, know in one sense we fear getting God's attention. We are afraid that He will see the wrong that we are doing. But this kind of fear is different than that. We want this kind of attention. And it is important to know that "Those who fear God get God's attention" isn't it?  Verses 10 - 11 in the Amplified Bible says, "He does not delight in the strength (military power) of the horse, nor does he take pleasure in the legs (strength) of a man. The Lord favors those who fear and worship Him, [with awe-inspired obedience], those who wait for mercy and lovingkindness."   We too many times ...

Saturday... We search for it but do we know it when we see it. It all depends upon our definition. Psalm 145:3 (AMP) says, " Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is [so vast and profound as to be] unsearchable [incomprehensible to man]." And that is why it is so hard for us to really know it when we see it. But I do believe that "Great is the Lord" and my belief in that as a fact makes all the difference in how I face each day and live with confidence in each day. Verses 4 & 5 (NLT) says, "Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles."  My parents did that. They gave their lives to share that. And that is a major reason why I believe it and I too am sharing and living it as a fact. I just finished this morning the book of Matthew in the NT. It was the first book to introduce us to Jesus and the life He li...

Friday... You just get up. What do you do when you trip and fall? When I was 5 my Grandma Williams decided that it was time for me and my 4 year old sister to get up in her small church and sing. She practiced with us and when it was our time to sing, I tripped and fell and then hopped over to where we were supposed to sing. That is one way to handle tripping and falling. The writer of Proverbs in 24:16 (NIV) says, "The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked." Verses 15 & 16 in The Message says, "Don't interfere with good people's lives; don't try to get the best of them. No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don't stay down long; Soon they're up on their feet, while the wicked end up flat on their faces." Don't waste the tripping and falling, get up and learn from it and make use of the experience. There may be something there to share with others w...

Thursday... It can get very deep.  David it seems had it sometimes. In Psalm 143:7 He writes, "Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don't turn away from me or I will die." Now there is chemical depression where you need medicine to deal with it and then there is emotional depression which is what it seems David had here in this Psalm. And life can bring it on to the point that you feel like your going to die. Maybe that is where you are or have been or where someone you know is. It can be so difficult to deal with. He says in verse 4, "I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear." Losing hope can take us to a dark spot and also living in great fear. No wonder he was depressed. But he goes on. In verses 5 & 6 he says, "I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works and think about what you have done. I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain."  He then says in verse 8a,...

Wednesday... The word overwhelmed says so much. It really does. David the writer of Psalm 142 was trapped in a cave with no way out. King Saul was outside looking for him so he could kill him. To David that was what it meant to be overwhelmed. He was trapped with no way out. He just needed to wait and see if those looking for him would leave but of course he knew they could come in the cave and find him. Now what is overwhelming you may not be that but I'm sure you are feeling trapped. In verse 4 (NLT) he writes, "I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me." That is what you feel when you are overwhelmed, isn't it? He is letting us know what he feels when he is alone and overwhelmed but that isn't all that he says.  In verses 1-2 David writes, "I cry out to the Lord; I plead for the Lord's mercy. I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles....

Tuesday... It isn't always a straight line. I know we don't use maps anymore but I still like to look at them. Have you ever looked at a map of the United States and looked at the boundaries of the states? Some of them are straight but others are crooked. Now if you look at the crooked boundaries you will see they are usually rivers and rivers are never a straight line.  Now straight lines are so clean and they are shorter. We alway want to get to where we are going the fastest way because we are usually running late but maybe the fastest or the shortest or the most direct is not the best.  Proverbs 21:1 (NLT) says, "The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he guides it wherever he pleases."   Now we may like to live our life in a straight line. Get up the same time, go to work the same way, eat the same thing.  We like to live our life in a routine. That is an effective way to live but maybe that is not God's way. He has some different...