Before Your Day Gets Started

Before your day gets started I want to remind you that it hasn’t happened yet.

It is a day yet to be lived.

It is a page in your story that is unwritten.

Just because your story has been going one way up until today, doesn’t mean it has to continue that way.

Just because you made a bad decision yesterday, doesn’t mean you have to make one today…or tomorrow.

Just because yesterday’s habits were unhealthy doesn’t mean today you have to continue in them.

You choose.

You have the freedom of choice and with Jesus, you have the power to change.

Today is unwritten.


God has a plan.


You have the pen.

Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.

Philippians 4:13 MSG

Hope For Today

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13 NIV

As you look to the future today don’t look to the past to determine its possibilities.

Don’t look around to what is going on around you to determine how you feel about it.

Look to the God of hope who surrounds you with His love.

Look to the God of love who has broken the power of sin on the cross.

Look to Jesus who will fill you with all joy and peace as you trust Him.

Regardless of what is going on around you, His love is for you.

Jesus died and rose again so that your hope would not lie in the power of man but in the power of God.

May you live in the fullness of His love today, tomorrow and every day after.

Trust God

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Whatever today brings, I want to remind you to trust God in it.

Trust that He has your present provided for. Jesus will give you what you need when you need it to deal with what is happening right now.

Trust that He will heal your past. There is no sin stronger than the blood of Jesus and there is no hurt His love can’t heal.

Trust that He has your future in the palm of His hand. Jesus is preparing a place for you and preparing you for the place. Stressing about it helps no one. Rest in Him and wait.

Take a deep breath and fix your eyes on Jesus. 

Trust Jesus.

Hope Now

Friday

What are you hoping for today?

“Wait, Israel, for GOD. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always!”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭131:3‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Hope now.

Right now.

While you wait.

While you are stuck.

Open wide your heart and let hope flood in.

Let it wash over your mind and fill your spirit to the brim.

There is no better day than today.

There is no a better time than right now.

No matter what is going on around you, hope is available to you.

Jesus died on the cross, took the punishment of sin, and rose again to eternal life.

He is alive.  He is working.  He is saving.  He is holding out eternal hope to you.

Don’t procrastinate hope, you have permission to hope now – no matter what.

 

Don’t Wait Until Tomorrow

Friday
“I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ.”
‭‭Jude‬ ‭1:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬
You don’t have to strive to take care of “number one” or stress to win the approval of others.
You are called by God.
You are loved by your Heavenly Father.
You are cared for by Jesus.
You don’t have to wait until tomorrow to live loved. 
You don’t have to wait until you get your life altogether or until you “get better” at whatever you are trying to get better at.
Because of what Jesus did, you have the right to live as a cherished and loved child of God every day, including this one.
And as you do, you will not walk alone, Jesus will walk with you.
He will be your companion and guide you.
He will remind you that you are chosen by God to make a difference today in the world you live in.
He will remind you that your value doesn’t depend on what others think of you but it is anchored on what God thinks of you.
He thinks you are His amazing kid and loves you when you are a mess and loves you when you are all cleaned up and in every moment in between.
It is time to start living your life in solid truth of God’s call, love, and care for you.
Don’t wait until tomorrow, start living in it today.

Restoring Joy

Friday

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭51:12‬ ‭NIV

Today I am praying for the wind of restoration to sweep away the cobwebs of the fear and regret that are clinging to your soul.

I am praying for the worries and wonderings of “what if’s” be swept away because what is done is done and today is a new day.

Today is a new day to invite God in.

Today is a new day to embrace the hope you have in Jesus.

Today is your new day to walk in the power and purpose of God.

Put all your yesterdays and tomorrows into God’s hands – He is big enough to handle them. 

May you live fully filled up with God’s peace and have a willing spirit to fully engage in what God has given you to do today.

Strength For Today

 

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“Give us today our daily bread.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Lord, give me what I need for today.

Not what I needed yesterday.

Not what I will need for tomorrow.

What I need today.

Today’s strength.

Today’s sustenance.

Today’s vision.

Today’s peace that passes understanding.

It might look different than I expect it to but it will do the job nonetheless.

You are amazing like that.

Thank you, Lord, for today’s provision, for today’s daily bread.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Through All the Times.

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The longer you follow Jesus, the more you realize you need Him.

My college pastor said it was like this, “The closer you get to bright light, the more you see the flaws you have”.

It was good to know that the closer I get to God, the more I will see my imperfections and know more intimately my own flaws.

It was good for me to hear early on that in my walk with God I would never get to a point of “being an expert ” or “being perfect”.

Your life with God is a journey. 

It isn’t a skill to excel in, it is a relationship to have.

Through the good times and bad times, the easy times and the hard times.

Through ALL the times.

“Brother and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,”

Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ NIV

We tend to focus on all the things we are not, all the things we haven’t conquered, all the things we haven’t grown in.

All those things take your focus from God and put it on yourself.

So, forget it. 

Forget it all.

God didn’t choose you because someday you would be perfect. He chose you because He loves you and He is perfect enough for the both of you. 

Forget what is behind you even if it happened five minutes ago.

Love God for who He is and let Him love you for who you are: His kid. 

Black Friday

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Black Friday has changed over the years and isn’t the mad rush at midnight that it used to be. Black Friday has changed but the stress of the season hasn’t. Today I want to remind you of a few things to help you deal with it:

Be present.

Stay focused on the main goal of this season.

Do what God has given you to do where you are.

Don’t worry about what others are doing or getting.

Don’t wonder where others are going or what others are giving.

Focus on what is important today.

Focus on the why of the season.

“Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, ‘I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,’ we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?”  Hebrews 13:5-6 MSG

Jesus has promised to be with you and is ready to help you in every situation that presents itself to you.

Ask God for help and focus on being present in the present today. 

Time is Precious

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Time is precious, use it wisely.

Did you know that when the word “priority” was introduced and used in English that is was not plural? It was was only singular as in “what is your top priority or your priority for today?

Over time, it became plural as now we have five top priorities rather than one. Our culture is now more about trying to figure out what is the top priority out of the five top things that must be done today.

I vote that we make priority singular again, especially now as we are waist-deep in the busyness.

I don’t know about you, but it is so easy for me to fall prey to “just surviving” and then being sucked into everyone else’s crisis of the moment.

It is so easy to forget that if you are empty, you will have nothing to give others. Before you make your to-do list today put time with God in the number one spot.

Make your relationship with God your first and only priority. Spend some time with Him and let Him love you.

“Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.”

Matthew 6:30-33 MSG

Today, may your soul be filled with His presence and may your heart be overflowing with His love.

Spend some time just being His kid and you will be pleasantly surprised by how that changes everything.