Matthew 6:34 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/29/2018)...

PRAY MORE. WORRY LESS.

Matthew 6:34 (NLT) So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Philippians 3:12-14 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/28/2018)...

"Trusting that God's plans for me are good and that my future is secure in his loving care leads me to wonder about all the energy and effort I have squandered in my past. Do I have the courage to let certain things fall away with every step I take on my adventure? I wonder what I would need to let go of. Here is my list:

1. Disappointments I've carried around for a very long time.
2. Resentments for small and great offenses I've endured.
3. Defensiveness to shield me from real and imagined insults.
4. Trophies to my failures that keep me mindful of my limitations.
5. Trophies to my successes that remind me I used to be someone.
6. My need to be right, strong, smart, good, and fun so people will love me.
7. Anger and frustration, fear and loathing whenever the world doesn't go my way.

John F. Westfall ("I Didn't Sign Up For This," Revell, pgs. 167-168)

Philippians 3:12-14 (NLT) I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

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Proverbs 22:1-2 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/26/2018)...

"Becoming rich isn’t as much about getting rich financially as about whom you become, in character and mind, to get rich."

T. Harv Eker

Proverbs 22:1-2 (NLT) Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold. The rich and poor have this in common: The Lord made them both.

Philippians 4:8-9 (NLT) And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

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Psalm 118:13-14, 17 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/25/2018)...

"But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!"
Rocky Balboa

Psalms‬ ‭118:13-14, 17‬ ‭(NLT‬‬) My enemies did their best to kill me, but the Lord rescued me. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory...I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done.”
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1 Corinthians 3:6-9 (NIV)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/21/2018)...

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."

Robert Louis Stevenson

1 Corinthians 3:6-9 (NIV) I (Apostle Paul) planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

James 3:17-18 (NLT) But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

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Colossians 3:2-4 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/20/2018)...

"Life is like a camera, just focus on what's important and capture the good times, develop from the negatives and if things don't work out, just take another shot"

Anonymous

Colossians 3:2-4 (NLT) Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

Isaiah 41:10 (NLT) Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

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2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/19/2018)...

"If you can’t do anything about it then let it go. Don’t be a prisoner to things you can’t change.” 

Tony Gaskins

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NLT) We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

Titus 3:10-11 (NLT) If people are causing divisions among you, give a first and second warning. After that, have nothing more to do with them. For people like that have turned away from the truth, and their own sins condemn them.

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Lamentations 3:22-24 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/18/2018)...

"Every end is a new beginning.”

Lamentations 3:22-24 (NLT) The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

Ephesians 4:21-23 (NLT) Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

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Ephesians 6:1-4 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/15/2018)...

FATHER'S DAY THOUGHT...

“By profession I am a soldier and take pride in that, but I am prouder—infinitely prouder—to be a father. A soldier destroys, a father builds. The one has the potentiality of death; the other embodies creation and life.

It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battlefield, but in the home, repeating with him our simple daily prayers.” 

General Douglas MacArthur

Ephesians 6:1-4 (NLT) Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

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Proverbs 1:8-9 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/14/2018)...

FATHER'S DAY THOUGHT...

"My father taught me that only through self-discipline can you achieve freedom. Pour water in a cup and you can drink; without the cup, the water would splash all over. The cup is discipline."

Ricardo Montalban

Proverbs 1:8-9 (NLT) My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.

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Deuteronomy 6:5-7 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/13/2018)...

FATHER'S DAY THOUGHT...

"Our children need to be taught HOW to think, not WHAT to think."

Unknown

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 (NLT) And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.

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James 1:2-4 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/12/2018)...

”Be thankful for everybody in your life, good and bad, past and present. They all made you the person that you are today.”

Unknown

James 1:2-4 (NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

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Ephesians 4:20-24 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/11/2018)...

”Bad habits cause failure. Identify the habits holding you back and make a decision to crush them. The mentally tough mind is like a flourishing garden, and bad habits are the weeds that suffocate it. Watering the flowers without killing the weeds is an act of self-delusion.” 

Steve Seibold

Ephesians 4:20-24 (NLT) But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

PLEASE NOTE: The author of this post (me) is well aware that the list of "Bad Habits" is very long. This is not an attempt to just target the obvious. It is a challenge and/or encouragement to pro-actively tackle one's personal frustrating annoyances...with the Lord's help. 

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2 Timothy 2:23-24 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/7/2018)...

Before you assume, learn the facts.

Before you judge, understand why.

Before you hurt someone, feel.

Before you speak, think.

Unknown

James 1:19-20 (NLT) Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

Romans 12:17-18 (NLT) Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 (NLT) Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool.

 2 Timothy 2:23-24 (NLT) Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.

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Romans 14:10-13 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/6/2018)...

I’m perfectly imperfect.

Because if you’re perfectly imperfect,

You always have to work on yourself.

And if you work on yourself,

You don’t have time to talk about or

Worry about other people.

– Dag Aabye

Romans 14:10-13 (NLT) So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For the Scriptures say, “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God." 

Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.

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Colossians 3:16-17 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/5/2018)...

The Bible...

Know it in your head. 

Stow it in your heart. 

Show it in your life. 

Sow it in the world.

J. Vernon McGee

Colossians 3:16-17 (NLT) Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

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Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/4/2018)...

"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails."

William Arthur Ward

Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT) Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

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Psalm 37:23-24 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (6/1/2018)..,

"Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down."

Charles (Boss) Kettering

Psalms 37:23-24 (NLT) The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.

Psalms 37:34 (NLT) Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed.

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