TODAY

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. I will REJOICE and be glad in it. Think about that for a moment! Today, the choice is yours…will I rejoice or complain? Will I be glad, or mad? Rejoicing is really about an attitude. God created TODAY just for you. What about tomorrow? Jesus told us to not worry about tomorrow. Do you remember what happened to the Israelites and the daily manna?

Exodus 16:4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.

They were to trust God EACH DAY for provision. God miraculously fed the Israelites as they traveled through the wilderness, but He gave them only enough for ONE DAY at a time. Through this, we see one of God's principles at work-that we are to TRUST HIM EACH DAY for what we need that day and not worry about tomorrow. Jesus knew this principle when He taught His disciples to pray in Matthew 6:11 "Give us this day our daily bread." Then, He challenges us to trust God DAY by DAY…

Matthew 6:25-34 "If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. (26) Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. (27) "Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? (28) All this time and money wasted on fashion--do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, (29) but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. (30) "If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers--most of which are never even seen--don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? (31) What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. (32) People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. (33) 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. (34) "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

There are some great principles in this passage of Scripture. Let's look at a few:

#1 Replace COMPLAINING with GRATITUDE "If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. Why? Because FUSSING and COMPLAINING is another way of saying that you don't trust God. God has been speaking to me the past few days about Isaiah 26:3. Please read the following passage: Isaiah 26:3-4 You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. (4) So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].

We quote "thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed (fixed) on you" and forget the rest of the verse. We will not be able to fix our eyes on Jesus if we don't learn to TRUST IN HIM. That means to commit ourselves to Him, lean on Him, and confidently hope in Him. When you do truly TRUST Him, the struggle is not nearly so hard to THANK Him IN SPITE of what you are facing. When we fill our minds and hearts with THANKSGIVING and GRATITUDE, then our focus is on the reason that we can trust God. He is a good God. EVEN when your situation doesn't look very good, it doesn't change this fact about our wonderful God…HE IS GOOD ALL THE TIME, AND ALL THE TIME, GOD IS GOOD! However, when we FUSS and COMPLAIN, our focus is on our LACK and not our LORD. He is our Lord of provision even if you can't see the provision in the physical. Sometimes you have to see the provision by faith!

Joshua 6:1-5 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. (2) Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. (3) March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. (4) Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. (5) When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in."

Now, get this picture. Jericho was completely inaccessible. No one was leaving, nor entering the city. There were HUGE walls around the city. The city of Jericho, built thousands of years before Joshua was born, was one of the oldest cities in the world. In some places it had fortified walls up to 25 feet high and 20 feet thick. Soldiers standing guard on top of the walls could see for miles. Jericho was a symbol of military power and strength—the Canaanites considered it invincible. HOWEVER, God told Joshua…SEE, I HAVE GIVEN YOU THE CITY! God wanted Joshua to see the victory BY FAITH. That is the basis of PRAISING God. It is VERBALIZING my faith. Even in the face of seemingly INSURMOUNTABLE odds…when I praise God in the midst of the battle, I am SEEING the victory that God is going to give me, BEFORE the answer is seen in the physical. Joshua could have complained and fussed by saying, "See what? All I see is HUGE walls, soldiers on top of the walls, and no one leaving or entering…GLOOM, DESPAIR, AND AGONY ON ME!" But, no, no, no…Joshua SAW through eyes of faith, and he expressed what he saw through GRATITUDE! What a way to live!

The second thing that our text in Matthew shows us is:

#2 Remember how VALUABLE you are to God. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. God sent His only begotten Son to die for you. You are the APPLE OF HIS EYE. You are accepted by Him through the blood of His Son. He didn't shed His blood for the birds, yet he cares for them. They ARE protected and cared for. If God knows how to take care of the birds and the lilies of the field, don't you think He will take care of you? We need to remember just how much God loves us!

#3 Refuse to waste time with WORRY about things that you can't change. "Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? (28) All this time and money wasted on fashion--do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, (29) but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. You cannot CHANGE your situation by FUSSING and complaining about it. God created you and believed that what He created was GOOD. It amazes me how much time people waste griping and fretting over their: personalities, looks, families, past, etc. The things that you CAN CHANGE…CHANGE. The things that you can't, leave them in God's providential hands, and MOVE ON. Even this goes back to how much do you believe that you can TRUST GOD? I used to spend so much time WISHING that I had different looks and personality until I realized that God created me the way that I am, and it is up to me to become the BEST ME that I can become! God filled me with potential, and I want to live my life to the fullest, and at the end of my life be put into a grave EMPTY, because I used up every bit of the potential that God put within me. So, refuse to waste days, weeks, months and YEARS on worrying about what you do not have, and start using what you do have! God believes in you, and created you to be successful!

#4 Re-affirm TODAY your belief in God's care for you. "If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers--most of which are never even seen--don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? That is why my favorite verse is Psalm 118:24, "This is THE DAY that the Lord has made…I will rejoice and be glad in it." God hasn't given me TOMORROW YET, so why worry about it? He has given me TODAY, and He knew what I would face TODAY and gives me everything that I need TODAY. Again, that is why the Israelites were supposed to ONLY get manna for ONE DAY AT A TIME. God provides whatever you need TODAY. When you can't see how you will make it tomorrow, it is a TEST of your faith and obedience. "One day at a time, sweet Jesus." Lord, I trust you TODAY to provide for me and my family. I honor you TODAY. I trust you TODAY. I worship you TODAY. I thank you TODAY. I see your goodness TODAY. I will serve you TODAY.

#5 Relax in your intimate relationship with God. You know WHO He is, and WHAT He is like. What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. (32) People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.
You know God, so you can RELAX and not FUSS over everything that doesn't go exactly like YOU think that it should. Remember, His ways and thoughts are so far above ours. Keep your mind on Jesus…you really can trust Him because you KNOW HIM!

#6 Remember the past victories that God has brought into your life. (32) People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. (33) 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. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, and God-provisions. REMEMBER the times He has come through for you. Do you think He has changed? Do you think He has RUN OUT of goodness? When you TRUST God TODAY, you will find that your EVERY DAY human concerns will be met! You may say, "You just don't know the mistakes of my past, all of the regrets that I have" but, my friend, that was YESTERDAY…not TODAY. God gives you grace TODAY, for all of your failures from YESTERDAY. Well, what about TOMORROW, "I am so worried about WHAT COULD HAPPEN tomorrow." Again, God will take care of you TOMORROW…remember, this is THE DAY (TODAY) that the Lord has made…He will give you "today your daily bread". Hasn't He taken care of every single TODAY that you have faced? He HAS NOT and WILL NOT change! His Name makes certain of that…Jehovah Jireh, the Lord my PROVIDER.

#7 Relish in what God is doing TODAY. "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Yesterday, I mentioned in my blog about the importance of Psalm 46:10, "Be still and KNOW that I am God." In the middle of the night, when we can't sleep, when we are STILL, it is a perfect opportunity for God to become real to us. However…BEFORE we can KNOW that God is GOD…we must come to grips with the fact, in the middle of the night, in the middle of my crisis, that I AM NOT GOD. In the stillness, before I can know that God is God, I must realize that I am not. In other words, I need to do what I can, and turn the rest over to my faithful God. Remember TODAY God has provided everything that I need to make it. The battle is in the night time, when the change is taken place. What change? The change from TODAY to TOMORROW… During that transition, you must keep your MIND set on Jesus, because you TRUST IN HIM. Why do you trust Him, because you KNOW HIM! TRANSITIONS are tough and they challenge our faith, but God is the God of TRANSITIONS as well as God of TODAY! He is also God of tomorrow, but He doesn't want us living into tomorrow until it becomes TODAY!

#8 Reject the temptation to live in TOMORROW while enjoying TODAY. Don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
God is the great I AM! He is sufficient for TODAY. What about tomorrow? Well, when you get to TOMORROW it will be TODAY. And you can once again determine that, "this is THE DAY that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!

My prayer is that you meditate on God's word TODAY! Blessing!

Pastor Rusty

Today's "Through the Bible in a year" reading: Wednesday, April 2, 2008: 2 Chronicles 17:1 – 2 Chronicles 21:3

This week's memory verse to "Hid in our hearts": 2 Chronicles 20:22

v. 22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were [self-] slaughtered;