I have good news for you this morning! It’s a new day! No matter the challenges or disappointments of yesterday or the worries and cares which kept you awake through the night, today is a new beginning, a new start.
We may have regrets about yesterday, we may have shed tears over our poor decisions and past mistakes, but for a child of God, “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalms 30:5 NLT).
No matter how great our sin, no matter what mistakes we may have made, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Today, grab hold of this gift God has given you. Don’t let your yesterdays hold you back embracing today and hoping for tomorrow. “This is the day the Lord has made…rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24).
Have you ever been lost, not sure which path to take, or even where to take your next step? I have and it’s an experience I’ll never forget.
I was in my teens and a bunch of us had decided to hike up to a lake in the Adirondacks. We had a great time, but we lingered too long. By the time we headed back the sun was setting. Before long it was pitch dark, so dark we couldn’t see the person in front of us, let alone the trail ahead. We were lost!
We tried lighting a torch, but the wood was damp. We tried spreading out to find the next trail marker, which worked for awhile, but eventually we couldn’t find another marker. Finally, in desperation, we did the thing we should have done at the beginning. We prayed.
Moments later the clouds opened up and the moon shone down, revealing a trail marker just ahead. The moon continued to light our path until we were safely back at camp. I guarantee none of us will ever forget that night when God lit the way.
Does your walk in life sometimes feel like you’re stumbling in the dark, not sure where to take your next step, unable to see the path ahead? Don’t be afraid. Remember you never walk alone. Your Heavenly Father walks beside you. He “is the Lord your God, “who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” (Isaiah 48:17 NIV). Put your trust in Him and He will always light your way.
I could feel it building within me, like bubbling acid in my gut, an almost overwhelming feeling of anxiety, threatening to steal my peace and sending me running in the other direction. I’d felt it too many times before, but this time was different. I was ready for it. Instead of giving in, I reached out, sending a text to someone who could help. Turns out the situation which had me feeling so uptight had a simple solution. I just needed someone else to point me in the right direction.
Anxiety runs rampant in our society, with an estimated 301 million people affected by some type of anxiety disorder worldwide, according to a study published by the World Health Organization in 2019. Since the pandemic, that number is probably much higher.
The physical effects of anxiety include headaches, fatigue, elevated blood pressure, and increased risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.
The social effects are just as devastating, including broken homes, domestic abuse, decreased job performance, substance abuse and suicide. Anxiety, left untreated, destroys the lives of not only the one suffering from it, but also their family and friends.
There is hope, however. There are effective treatments, which can help us find a way out of the pit anxiety has us in and give us hope for a better tomorrow. But first we have to take the hardest step of all, swallowing our pride, and asking for help, seeking the help of medical professionals trained in dealing with anxiety issues. A good place to start is with your PCP or, if you are in a crisis, by calling or texting “988”, the number for the Suicide and Crisis Hotline.
Mental health professionals and counselors can make a real difference when it comes to dealing with anxiety, but there is Another who can help and He is just a prayer away. King David knew the truth of this. He declared “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” (Psalm 94:19 NIV). God loves you and wants you to have a free and abundant life. That’s why Peter counseled us to, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7).
If anxiety is destroying your peace, reach out to those who are trained to help. And, reach up to the One who “cares for you.” Instead of letting anxiety take control and destroy your peace of mind, “in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6, 7).
Life sometimes feels like a circus act, the one where the high wire artist is juggling a bunch of balls while walking across a narrow cable. One slip, one errant catch, and everything comes tumbling down. Sounds like too many of my days.
In a world where free time is a precious commodity, where so many things are clamoring for our attention, and there are so many things to do, it is sometimes hard to know where to start. That’s where the story in Luke 10 can make such a difference.
Luke tells us Jesus was visiting the home of Marth and Mary, two of his faithful followers. Martha was busy being responsible, making sure the meal was prepared and everyone was having their needs met. Meanwhile, her sister Mary was leaving Martha to do all the work, while she “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.” (Luke 10:39 NIV).
Finally Martha couldn’t take it anymore and she went to Jesus and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (v. 40).
Jesus’ reply was unexpected. He said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (vs. 41-42).
In this life there is only one thing that really matters – spending time with Jesus. Get that right and everything else will fall into place. Today, before you start juggling responsibilities or balancing your to-do list, begin your day the right way – sitting at the feet of Jesus.
Change is in the air in our hometown. The mornings are cooler, the days are shorter, and the trees are starting to sport their fall colors. We’re still supposed to have temps in the 90’s today, but all the signs are there that cooler days are just around the corner.
Changes are happening in the world around us too. We can see this in the political unrest and division in our nation, the increasing ferocity of storms and extremes of heat and cold, and the news of “wars and threats of war…” and “famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.” (Matthew 24:6, 8 NLT). All make it clear that change is coming, that our world is waxing old like a garment. (Isaiah 51:6)
Just as the changing of the leaves in autumn lets us know the seasons are changing, the same is true of the events we see happening in our world. Jesus said, “In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.” (Matthew 24:33 NLT).
For some the changing of seasons is met with dread, because they know the storms of winter and frigid cold are sure to follow. Others, however, revel in the changes, enjoying the multi-colored beauty of fall and anticipating the fun of winter sports and the crispness of the air on a winter morning.
In the same way, for many the changes happening in our world fill them with despair and panic. They dread the unknown. For God’s children, however, these signs are met with joy, because they know a new dawn is just over the horizon.
While it is true that “no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen…” (v. 36), we can find hope in the promise that whatever happens we have a Heavenly Father who does know and who will always be our refuge and our fortress, our God, in whom we trust. (Psalm 91:2 NIV).
Change is in the air. There is no doubt about that, but don’t be afraid. Instead, “when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”. (Luke 21:28 KJV).
Much of my life I have felt like an outsider looking in. I never really fit in at school or even at work. I was kind of the nerd, a little straight-laced, not the best looking, usually the last one picked for sports. It can be kind of lonely sometimes, being the one on the outside, always looking in.
I don’t say these things to make you feel sorry for me, because one thing I’ve learned, as I’ve grown older, is I am not alone in feeling this way. Most of us feel this way at some point in our lives, if not most of the time. We all feel like a round peg in a square hole. We fit, but not well.
There’s one place we do fit perfectly, however – in the family of God. No matter what our background, our sins or mistakes, our nationality, our economic status, we are all the same – sinners in need of a Savior. God saw our helplessness, saw we would never fit in in His kingdom the way we were, and sent His Son to die for us, so we could belong. “Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13 NLT).
Because of what Jesus did for us we need never feel like an outsider again. “Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit, because of what Christ has done for us.” (v. 18). Through Jesus we “are no longer strangers and foreigners. [We] are citizens along with all of God’s holy people…members of God’s family.” (v. 19).
Do you, like me, feel like an outsider, like you don’t fit in? Then come join the family, the family of Christ. There’s always room for one more at His table. There are no strangers or foreigners here. This is one place you’ll always belong. Welcome home!
One of the things I enjoy so much about my morning walks is watching the sun rise. This time of year, when I start out, it is still dark. As I walk along light starts to slowly seep into my world until, as I turn the corner and head home, the sun breaks over the horizon, chasing away the last remnants of darkness.
Many days I also take an evening walk. Then I get to watch the sun slip out of sight, leaving a spectacular color display in the clouds, ushering in the night and the end of another day.
Day after day this cycle repeats. Morning and evening. Sunrise and sunset. But what happens in between? That’s what really matters. How do we spend those precious hours between when we wake up and when we fall asleep?
The Bible tells how God wants us to spend those hours. It says, “From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.” (Psalm 113:3 NIV). Every moment of every day is to be spent praising the name of the Lord, glorifying Him for all He has done. Our every breath should be an act of worship.
So, are we to go around shouting, “Praise God!” all day long? No, God says the kind of worship He desires is “to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke…to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood…” (Isaiah 58:6, 7).
The praise God desires from us, from sunup to sunset, is praise in action, loving our fellowmen, caring for their needs, helping them find their way home. When you do this “Then your light will break forth like the dawn and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness[a] will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.” (v. 8).
Today, “From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets…” let your actions shout your praise to your God. If you do, then His light will light your way, His love will fill your heart, and you will never walk alone.
Our granddaughter loves to ring the doorbell! When her parents bring her to our house early in the morning, so Ana can babysit her, Bexlie presses that button with gusto. Sometimes that bell seems extra loud, especially if we’re just waking up.
But, no matter how loud that bell seems to us, we never refuse to open the door and let Bexlie in. We love her so much and look forward to spending the day with her. We’d never tell her to go away or be too busy to spend time with her.
Yet how often I refuse to open the door to my heart when my Heavenly Father knocks. I’m too busy to spend time with Him or, maybe, I just don’t want to hear what He has to say, afraid He might ask me to do something I don’t want to do. For whatever reason, I ignore His gentle knock till He goes away.
The thing is, God is a lot like Bexlie. If we don’t answer the door with one ring of the bell, she keeps pressing that button till we do. God does the same. He keeps coming back, day-after-day, knocking on that door. He doesn’t give up!
How about you? Is He standing at the door right now? Do you hear His gentle knock? What are you waiting for? Open the door! Don’t be afraid. He promises, “If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” So, don’t wait a moment longer – Open the door and let Him in!
The last month and half have been good for me. The time away from work, our trip to Puerto Rico, the time to refocus and unwind, have made a huge difference in my outlook on things. Even with starting a new job and my other responsibilities at home and church, I have a sense of calmness and peace, which had alluded me a good portion of the time over the last year and half.
I think a lot of what I’m experiencing is due to my refocusing on my relationship with God. I’ve been spending more time reading His word and talking with Him as I walk each morning and throughout the day. I find the more I focus on Him, the less the everyday things which usually stress me out affect me.
Could you use a little more peace and calm in your life? The good news is you don’t have to take a month off or travel to a tropical paradise to experience this (although it sure doesn’t hurt). That peace can be yours today. It just takes a little trust and a change in focus. The Bible promises God “will keep in perfect peace all who trust in [him], all whose thoughts are fixed on [Him]!” (Isaiah 26:3 NLT). So fix your eyes on Jesus today, and experience for yourself “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding…” (Philippians 4:7 NKJV).
I love our grandchildren more than I can say. Playing with them, reading them stories, even just watching them sleep, are just a few of the things that make every day with them so special.
Our granddaughter, Bexlie, and I sometimes have interesting conversations. Her vocabulary, while always expanding, is still limited, and her voice can be very quiet. This, combined with my hearing loss, sometimes makes understanding what she’s saying a real challenge.
Sometimes Bexlie gets frustrated when I can’t figure out what she’s saying. When this happens she’ll keep repeating the same thing over-and-over. Often I have to bend down to get down to her level, so I can hear her better and hopefully be able to grasp what she’s trying to tell me.
Many times I feel like Bexlie when I talk to God. I repeat my requests over-and-over, frustrated because I never seem to get an answer. I sometimes wonder if He even hears or if he cares.
I don’t need to worry, however, because the Bible promises when I pray, God “hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.” (Psalm 116:1 NLT). In fact, He is so interested in what I am saying that, just like I do with Bexlie, “he bends down to listen.” (Psalm 116:2).
So, don’t give up. Keep praying! God is listening. In fact, He’s bending down to catch every word. At the right time, He “will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV).
