New Beginnings

00529 New Beginnings

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation;

the old has gone,

the new has come!”

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

            Today is the first day of the rest of your life; believe in it. Every day is a new day, a chance to start over. Yesterday is past, tomorrow the future and today is a gift from God. It is up to us how we are going to use it. We can choose to carry around our old baggage or harvest new joys. It is our choice.

            Using a golf analogy, life is match play, hole by hole versus day by day. A bad golf hole in match play does not cost you the match, it counts as one of eighteen! In life, a bad day is painful and certainly not wanted and may contribute to a bad week. However, it can be a bottom, and life can be all uphill from there. We can turn bad into good.

           

            If you are reading this today you are on the right track, giving yourself the opportunity for a better day. Meditation and prayer will jump-start your day and open the window to the light of our faith.

Thought for Today: Today let us start a new beginning.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father we give you thanks for our many blessings; especially for a new day. We pray that we capture the joys of life that you lead us to and that we may help someone else also find them.

Amen

           

Straight to our Heart

Straight to our Heart

“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the LORD^[a];
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.”

(Isaiah 40 vs. 3)

            When driving in the UK where the roads are windy and twisty, occasionally we come to a long straight road that goes on for miles. My wife, a Brit, explained to me that those are ancient Roman roads laid out 2000 years ago. I found that impressive.

            In ancient times leaders built roads in the desert for their armies to move. They are long and straight and efficient so they could move quickly. The valleys are filled by pushing the tops of the hills. They facilitated the need. In New England where I grew up, there are very few straight roads. They paved the cow paths and horse trails which tended to follow the river beds. It is tough for strangers to find their way.

            The message today is that we need to be sure of our road to the lord; that it is straight. There needs to be a straight connection between God and our hearts. We need to allow the simplest two way travel possible in our complex world; straight to our heart. 

Thought for Today: Today let’s think about where our road takes us; where are we going. Perhaps we can take a few bends out and travel straight. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, we live in a complex world and are surrounded by too much activity and we are overcommitted. Today we thank you for being with us and pray that we may keep our hearts open to you and stay on a straight and holy path.

Amen

Spring!

00508 Spring

"In the bulb, there is a flower,
in the seed an apple tree;
in cocoons a hidden promise:
butterflies will soon be free!

In the cold and snow of Winter
there's a Spring that waits to be,
unrevealed until it's season,
something God alone can see."
(Hymn of Promise, Verse 1, Natalie Sleeth, 1986)

        This is s glorious time of the year. The northern hemisphere goes into the transition to Summer. It is a time when the resolutions from the new year are long since successful or forgotten. A time of vacation planning, garden planting and the anticipation of the beauty of the warm season. A time of hope led by the visible evidence of God's presence around us.

This is a time for reflection and review of our dark side. A review of the negative forces in our lives. This is Spring and we need to recover the "...hidden promise..." in our personal lives "... that God alone can see." Through our faith and belief, our Lord will share with us the pleasures of life.

Thought for Today: It is spring, take special notice of its wonders. Smell the flowers and enjoy the showers. Let us share these positive feelings with others and encourage positive feelings around us.
Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father we pray for an end to senseless killing and the guidance to understand this violent world that surrounds us. There seems to be a dominant hate factor that is not created by Godly forces. There needs to be more prayer and less negative logic.  We pray that the world’s religions may see You as one God. We pray that somehow through your divine guidance, killing, hate, and violence may come to an end.