Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. Psalm 92: For You, oh Lord, have made me glad by what You have done. I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands. How great are Your works O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep. God has done great things for us; and we should sing for joy every day. His thoughts are very deep. Things happen for a reason that we do not always understand. And yet He knows how well they will work out for us. If we knew what we would have to go through to get where He wants us to be, we would never go. No matter what, we know "the righteous man will flourish like the palm tree". They will still yield fruit in old age (of course we are not there yet). As the old commercial said "you're not getting older, you're just getting better". We shall be full of sap and very green. We won't get brown and withered. The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are a mere breath. We can't figure out things on our own; we need God's wisdom. Blessed is the man wh...

  Good morning. Today we are in Hebrews. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Once a year the high priest would sprinkle the blood and make intercession for all the people. Jesus our high priest sprinkled His own blood once for all. He doesn't need to do it year after year. Sometimes people say "well, Jesus was perfect – He can't sympathize with me. He can't know what I'm going through." And yet He was tempted in all of the types of ways that we are tempted; but He did not sin. It's also not just the temptation to sin; but also to do things on our own without God's help. He could have said "I know a better way than this". That was especially true in the garden. He is not some high and mighty person far aw...

  Good morning. I hope you have an exciting week this week. I'm sure you have a lot of things to do. We are back to the handout sheets. I am being strengthened with might by Your Spirit in the inner man. People do a lot of things to strengthen their outer man; but sadly too few do anything to strengthen their inner man. The strengthening comes through the Holy Spirit – we just need to allow Him to do it. Of course you need to "eat right". We eat right by reading and meditating upon His word. Our effort – our might. His Spirit – His might. I am strong in the Lord and in the power of Your might. I am empowered through my union with You and I am drawing strength from You. What is the source of your strength? If it is not God you fail even when you succeed. And so you know as we said before: I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me. It's not just being ready for ...

  Good morning. Back to Psalm 91. We left off where it was talking about all the bad stuff happening to the people around you. You will only look on with your eyes, and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the most high, your dwelling place. All this bad stuff happening to people and we are just observers. That's because we have God as our refuge, and they don't. Remember to stay under His wings. A verse we should repeat every day: no evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. It can't come where God is. Stand your ground! For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. He is our protector from all harm. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down. We usually run from danger; but this says we can walk right over it without harm. And why will God d...

  Good morning. Today we're going to look at second Timothy. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "the Lord knows those who are His," and, "let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness." Those who are Christians should abstain from all wickedness. Sadly they don't. They try to blend the world with Christianity; but they always fail to do so. Not only should they abstain from wickedness; but from even the appearance of wickedness. Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. It doesn't matter if we are a gold candelabra or a clay pot, we can still be one of honor instead of dishonor. But we first have to cleanse ourselves from all worldly things. Of cou...

  Good morning. Today we are in Psalm 91. He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. You have to stay close to the Lord to be in His shadow. He is our shelter from the storm. I will say to the Lord, "my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!" For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper, and from the deadly pestilence. The devil is out to trap us, and he has many people whom he can use to do that. But these traps are not in the shadow of the Almighty. So as long as we stay in His shadow, we will be fine. He also delivers us from the deadly pestilence. No matter how bad things are in the world, we are safe in Him. And once again: He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. We need to continually stay under His wings. He can't shield us if we're not there. You will not be afraid of the terror by night. There are a lot of terr...

  Good morning. Today were looking at the Gospel of John. I love the Gospel of John – you feel like you're right there with Jesus. The other Gospels are like they are just simply reporting what happened. John likes to use what is known as the historical present. He uses present tense verbs to talk about things that happened in the past. The difference would be like some joke that started: A man went into a bar and said to the bartender ... versus A man goes into a bar and says to the bartender ... In the second, you feel like you're right there in the bar with them. One of the most powerful verses in the Bible: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then verse two: He was in the beginning with God. Here we are again with infinity in the past. When the beginning came, the Word and God we're already there. Before time was – God is. Remember that in Greek when you say something is something else, it does not necessarily mean they ...

  Good morning. Today we are back to the handout sheets. In everything I do, I put Him first, and He will direct and crown my efforts with success. That is the key for us - to put Him first. The world puts me first, but we put Him first. Then He will direct our efforts. We like to be in control; but we must put Him in control of everything. When we do, He crowns our efforts with success. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Remember that it is not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit. We have joy even when things look unjoyful. That says we are trusting in Him. Also: I will go in the strength of the Lord. My flesh and my heart fail, but the Lord is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. In the end our efforts will fail. We may accomplish what we have started out to do; but in the end it is a failure when we don't do it in His power. When we don't have the strength of our inner will to keep going, He gives us that strength. Father help the reader to put You first...

  Good morning. Today we are in Psalm 90. Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born, or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. I don't believe the human mind can conceive of the phrase from everlasting to everlasting. I believe we can project forward forever, but not backwards forever. We can think of things going on and on; but we really can't conceive of things going in the past forever and ever. To humans everything has to have a beginning. And yet God has always existed. Even we mathematicians who deal with infinity have trouble with that. It's not just a really long time in the past. Verse 4: For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by, or as a watch in the night. At our age a year now seems like a short time. For God, who has been around forever, a thousand years would be like a day for us. This reminds us of second Peter. That with the ...

  Good morning. This is from first Peter. For you have been born again not of a seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God. The have been born again (or regenerated) is in the Greek perfect tense. That means it is an action that has been completed in the past, but has an effect on us today. We are not in the process of being born again; it has been completed. And because of that we are who we are in Christ. Of course this seed is not like a regular seed that perishes when we plant it. This seed, the word, is living and abiding and from God. That reminds us of Hebrews 4:12; for the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Since this word is alive, then so are we. Since it abides forever, then so do we. And because of this: you also, as living stones, are being...

  Good morning. We are back to the handout sheets. Remember that these are various translations. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me.) Even if we have strength to do something, it's no good unless Christ strengthens us. Otherwise we can brag that we did it. We are prepared to go through anything that comes upon us. The Lord has promised that He will instruct and teach me in the way that I shall go and will guide me with His eye upon me. God will not only show us the way, He will teach us how we are to go. He keeps His eye upon us. Remember the song "His eye is on the sparrow and He watches over me". If He cares about the birds, even more so He cares about us. God has good plans for me, to give me a future and a hope. He only desires good for us. We may not think it's good at the time, but it is. The world has no future and no hope; but we do! Father thank ...

  Good morning. This is from first Peter. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is according to His great mercy, because we don't deserve it. He has caused us to be born again – transformed from a caterpillar to a butterfly. We are not of this world – it is not our home. And what are we born again to - a living hope. This hope is alive in us our entire Christian lives. And we have this hope because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If He rose from the dead, then so shall we one day. And we are born again "to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away reserved in heaven for you". Earthly inheritances can easily perish or be from a defiled source. But this one will never fade away. It is reserved in heaven for you; in other words it's got your name on it. ...

  Good morning. Hope everything's going well. We're back in Psalms. Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry! We don't serve a God who does not listen to us. He sincerely desires to hear our prayers. And if we know He hears our prayers, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him. I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever. We do that every time we are in church, and throughout every day of our lives. Even the heavens will praise Your wonders, oh Lord. The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; the world and all it contains, You have founded them. Since everything is His, He can give us whatever we need. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne. And so they should be the foundation of our lives. How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! Oh Lord, they walk in the light of Your countenance. In Your name they rejoice all the day, and in Your righteousness they are exalted. With His face shining u...

  Good morning. Today we're back to the handout sheets. Many are the pressures of the righteous, but the Lord delivers me out of them all. There are a lot of pressures on us in today's world. There is a continuous pressure on us to accept all the excesses of today's society. Everything that you do is OK, they say. You feel the pressure if you disagree with them. If you are sinning, you want everyone to agree with you. But God will deliver us out of them all. We just have to stay true to Him and His word. "I will go in the strength of the Lord." That is how we can make it in today's world. We go in the strength of God. When we feel weak and are tempted to submit, He strengthens us. "I am strong in the Lord and the power of His might. (I am empowered through my union with Him and I am drawing strength from Him.)" We are not strong in ourselves. It is when we acknowledge our weakness in ourselves and His strength in us that we can overcome. There is n...

  Good morning. Today we are in Hebrews chapter 2. For this reason we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. Just sitting in church on Sunday morning listening to the word is not enough. It can go in one ear and out the other without pausing in between. It's too easy to only hear what we want to hear. The word is a mirror showing what's inside of us. So if the words spoken through angels proved unalterable (speaking of the Old Testament), and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Sometimes people get too comfortable in their salvation. It's not just a bunch of words as the rest of the verse proclaims: "After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard". This wasn't just some man or woman that spoke the words. It was the Lord Jesus Christ! If He said it, we should do it. God also bearing witness wi...

  Good morning. We are back to the handout sheets. I have confessed my sins, and He has been faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. We don't have to worry that maybe this time He won't forgive us. That's because He is faithful, even when we are not faithful. He not only forgives us, He cleanses us from all unrighteousness - so we don't have to confess our sins again, because we won't be doing them again. This morning I was reading in Luke about the prodigal son. The father didn't just forgive the younger son. He threw a block party for him. We have all been the prodigal sometime or other – some of us more prodigal than others. Because God forgives us and cleanses us, we are "free forever from condemnation". When the devil tries to remind us of the wrong things that we have done, we can say to him - we are forgiven. And just like the prodigal "we cannot be separated from the love of God". No matter what...

  Good morning. Psalm 86: Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. God has a way of doing things; and we need to know what it is. We can only know that through His word. We can't walk in His truth unless we know what that truth is. I will give thanks to You O Lord my God, with all my heart. That's because He united our heart to fear His name. And we will glorify His name forever. Your lovingkindness toward me is great, and you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. At times in our lives we feel like our soul is in the depths of Sheol. But You O Lord our God are merciful and gracious, slow to anger (thank God) and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it, and be ashamed. (May God do that for you). Because You O Lord have helped me and comforted me. He's done that for you before, and He will do it again. Thank You Lord for helping the reader. Help him/her to walk...

  Good morning. Today we're going to look at some verses from second Timothy. Who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. Wow! He didn't just save us and then forget us. He was more interested in us than that. He called us unto holiness. He did that because He knew that it was for our own good. We can't truly be happy unless we are living a holy life. He didn't save us because we did a bunch of good works or we lived a holy life all on our own. He saved us because He has a purpose for our lives. He saved us through the grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. Before there was even a world, He thought about us. And so we should be diligent to present ourselves approved to God as workmen who do not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth. We have to work at it to present ourselves approved to God. We c...

  Good morning. We are back to the handout sheet. I will cast all my cares upon Him, for He cares for me. We do have a God that cares for us. Sometimes we cast our cares upon people who in the end don't really care for us. They pretend to, but they don't really care for us. But our God really does care for us. We can trust Him – and His shoulders are big enough to carry the burden. I am more than a winner, through Christ who loves me. Sometimes we feel like a loser; but Christ says that we are a winner – and even more than a winner. We feel like breaking even would be good enough. But God says we are more than a winner. And we are more than a winner through Christ – because He loves us. He who began a good work in me will complete it – (making me what I ought to be). God did not just start a good work in us, and then walk off. He makes sure that it will be completed. It's not up to us to do the completing; He will do it. Of course we have to cooperate with Him. Father hel...

  Good morning. We're back in the Psalms today. It talks about You who are enthroned above the cherubim. To the Jewish people either God was far off in heaven or He was in the temple above the cherubim. But to us, He is living inside of us. He is not distant. We don't have to call long distance to talk to Him. It also says oh God, restore us, and cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved. God watches over us, and when He shines His face upon us, the darkness flees and we are saved from all our distress. Then: but I would feed you with the finest of the wheat; and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you. God does not give us the second best – He only gives the best. He gives us exactly what we need. How blessed are those who well in Your house! How blessed is the one whose strength is in You. In whose heart are the highways to Zion! For a day in Your courts is better than 1000 outside. Nothing that the world has to offer can replace what God will give to us. ...

  Good morning. We are back to the handout sheet. It ties in with other verses we've looked at in the past. There is no temptation or trial that happens to me that is not common to man. But God is faithful, and will not allow me to be tried beyond what I am able to endure, but will with the trial make a way of escape, that I may be able to bear it. We think we can't bear it, but God says we can. Whom are we going to believe – our minds or God? When we get into the habit of yielding, it is hard to resist the temptation. When we have a trial, it looks bigger than our God. David was in the valley. The giant was on the hillside. In the morning light, the giant's shadow probably filled the valley and made him look even bigger than he really was. That is the way of our trials – they look bigger than they actually are. David was in the valley of the shadow of death. But he feared no evil – because his God was bigger than the evil. God says we are able to endure. How can we endur...

  Good morning. Today we're back in Psalms. I will remember my song in the night; I will meditate with my heart; and my spirit ponders. Sometimes with all the troubles around us we forget our song. We feel like we have nothing to sing about. When you do sing despite the troubles, it sets your spirit free. I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. We need to remember what God has done for us in the past. He did it before; He will do it again. I will meditate on all Your work, and muse on Your deeds. We need to constantly think about all the good things God has done for us. You are the God who works wonders. If you have a big problem, then you need God to work a wonder. Of course all of our problems seem big to us. All of the things that God has done for us – we will not conceal them from our children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and wondrous works He has done. How else will our children know...

  Good morning. First I wanted to look at a verse that I read this morning. It describes perfectly these Christians I've been talking about. And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. Sadly that does describe a lot of Christians today. Back to the handout sheet: The Lord will keep me in perfect peace because my mind is stayed on Him – my thoughts turning often to Him, and I trust Him. When our minds are on Him instead of our problems, then we will have perfect peace. The world has the peace of "things are OK". We have the peace of "things are not OK, but I have peace anyway, because my mind is on God instead of my problems". We have to trust Him in the midst of the storm. Remember Jesus asleep in the boat. The disciples were looking at the storm and were afraid. Jesus' mind and confidence were on ...

  Good morning. Hope you had a great day yesterday. Today's inspiration comes from second Peter. It's a long series of things that I will interrupt as we go along. For this reason also, applying all diligence (in other words, it's not going to happen all on its own. You have to really work at it and stay with it.) in your faith supply moral excellence (One thing lacking today with too many Christians is moral excellence. They are too lax. They let things slide. You can barely tell the difference between them and people in the world. Remember we should do the right thing even when it's to our harm.), and in your moral excellence, knowledge; and in your knowledge, self-control (What, me control myself? Don't we have freedom? Just because we can doesn't mean we should. What we do when no one is looking reveals who is in charge of our life.), and in your self-control, perseverance (we have to stick with it even when doing good seems to not bring any benefit, or ev...

  Good morning. Psalm 86: Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. God has a way of doing things; and we need to know what it is. We can only know that through His word. We can't walk in His truth unless we know what that truth is. I will give thanks to You O Lord my God, with all my heart. That's because He united our heart to fear His name. And we will glorify His name forever. Your lovingkindness toward me is great, and you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. At times in our lives we feel like our soul is in the depths of Sheol. But You O Lord our God are merciful and gracious, slow to anger (thank God) and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it, and be ashamed. (May God do that for you). Because You O Lord have helped me and comforted me. He's done that for you before, and He will do it again. Thank You Lord for helping the reader. Help him/her to walk...

  Good morning. The ones we are going to look at today are from a handout sheet that I've had a long time. They are verses from various translations. Some we may have looked at before and some we will look at in the future. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. No matter what happens – good or bad - we are to praise the Lord continually. This shows our trust in Him. We are not thankful for the bad things; we are thankful despite them. As I praise Him all during the day, I will go from strength to strength; that is keep increasing in victorious power! God is not looking for the strong silent type. He is looking for those who express their praise to Him. God is working everything into a pattern for good, because I truly love Him and am one of those called to His purpose. Not everything is good but everything works into a pattern for good. I would not be here today if certain things had not happened during my life. At the time they seemed b...

  Good morning. I hope everything is going well with you. My power was out for an hour and a half yesterday during the storm. We are back in Psalms today. God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us. God blesses us that all the ends of the earth may fear Him. When we walk in the presence of the Lord, His face does shine upon us. And when it does, the blessings flow towards us. And why does He bless us? One reason of course is that He loves us; but it is also so that nonbelievers will see how He blesses us and will want to come to Him. They see that He blesses us in the midst of all the crises going on around us. We must serve an awesome God, they say, if He does that for us. Let God arise and His enemies be scattered. He is a father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows. He is with you to bring about justice and mercy. He will never leave you nor forsake you. God makes a home for the lonely; only the rebellious dwell in a parched land. That does...

  Good morning. May you be overflowing with energy and very productive today. I believe we looked at this before in second Timothy. Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. What is that quote? Preach the word every day; and if necessary use words. We do preach the word every day by our lives. People don't want to hear words that do not agree with what they want to do. But when we live our lives according to God's word, they come under condemnation. They don't want to hear our words – they want to see our actions. We have to live what we believe. The ones that are hardest to deal with are our friends and relatives. They don't want to hear from us that they are doing wrong. And just who do you think you are? I remember when you did or said so and so. We can't let that throw us. It is not up to us to make them do what God's Word says. Verse three is so true today. The time will come when ...

  Good morning. Rejoice and be glad! But will you really rejoice? We are going to look at a couple of Psalms today. The righteous man will be glad in the Lord and will take refuge in Him. Again we see that God is our refuge and our strength. And all the upright in heart will glory. Oh You who hears prayer, to You all men come. Yes God does hear our prayer. Remember: because we know God hears our prayer, we know that we have the requests we asked of Him. How blessed is the one whom You choose, and bring near to You, to dwell in Your courts. He chose us; and He didn't do it and then forsake us. He brought us near to Him. And what is the result? We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple. There is goodness and joy in the presence of the Lord. No good thing does He withhold from us. Who keeps us in life, and does not allow our feet to slip. Remember that He holds onto our hand so we won't slip and fall. We will walk with steadfast feet when we walk wit...

  Good morning. Once again we are in the pastor's favorite book – James. Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Anything that takes our attention away from God can be a trial. After a long day, you don't want to think about anything – you just want to rest. It takes a three day weekend of doing nothing just to recover. By the time you're ready to do something – it's Monday morning again. Of course the trials that James is talking about are a lot more severe than you or I would think is a trial. But these trials do take our attention away from God. Can you stand firmly committed to God? Is there anything that takes away your devotion to God? You could think of that as a test or a trial. Remember that the good can sometimes keep us from doing the best. We are not tempted just by bad things, we are also tempted to do good things instead of the best t...

  Good morning. Psalm 63: oh God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirst for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Remember the image of the deer panting for the water. That is the way our soul should be towards God. The world is a dry and weary land with no water for our soul. Our soul cannot be satisfied with things of the world. Having a bunch of things will not take the place of God for our soul. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You. I will bless You as long as I live. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness. In God our soul is totally satisfied. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. What do we think about when we go to bed? Is it the troubles confronting us, or is it God? We cannot still our soul when we are thinking about the troubles besetting us. We must meditate on God. In the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. There are those protec...