February 1, 2018 Thursday

“Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. The works of the LORD are great, Studied by all who have pleasure in them. His work is honorable and glorious, And His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; The LORD is gracious and full of compassion. He has given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant. He has declared to His people the power of His works, In giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of His hands are verity and justice; All His precepts are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, And are done in truth and uprightness. He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.” (Psalm 111:1-10 NKJV)

            There are so many things that call to us and say they are the most important thing in our lives.  Media, politics, family, church, job, community and so many others tell us they are the very foundation of our lives and require the first place in our lives.

            But they are all wrong.  Before any of these came into our lives God loved us and made a way for our redemption.  Before any family member knew us God had already made a way for our redemption!

            Some will tell you that to follow God makes you less caring of all those who call out for your allegiance but they either do not understand or desire too much of you.  For just as our reverence and relationship with God is the beginning of wisdom it also is the beginning of a better allegiance and relationship we can have with others.

            A good relationship with God makes us a better family member truly caring about others rather than merely trying to get along.  Our relationship with God makes us better workers, citizens and members of our congregations.  We even become better enemies in that we pray for the redemption of those who hate us!

            Through God we are better people and that becomes the foundation of every relationship and duty in our lives.  As Jesus reminds us others can tell our love for God by the love we have for not only our brothers and sisters in the faith but also the lost!  Indeed you can measure our love for God by how we love those who are least in our lives!

            This is not something we can do but something God can do in us and through us!  We cannot even love those we care about as we should but through God we can love even the least as we should because we have experienced God love for us and His power to love others!

            Call out to God and receive His power to love which will change your family, fellow workers, community and even the world!

            Went to see Dr Barker about my sleep apnea and she is still as amazing as I remember.  In a short while she sees your need and works through the possible solutions to find the best one for you.  I knew she would want me to have a sleep test again and that turned out to be true.  As we were checking out and were scheduling the test the lady told us that they just had a cancellation and I could come tomorrow and Sunday nights for the test!  Isn’t God so good!