Tag: Morning Musings

Morning Musing: 1 Peter 1:3-5

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“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

So far this week in our conversation about hope, we have made clear that Biblical hope and the more cultural value of optimism are not the same thing. Optimism is ultimately a fantasy whereas Biblical hope has an entirely more solid foundation. This isn’t to say that being optimistic is wrong. Having a positive outlook on tomorrow is a good thing indeed. But real hope is better in the grand scheme. Today, I want to give you one more reason why this is the case. When it comes to the optimistic, wishful thinking our culture commends to us, it can be hard to maintain such a thing over the long haul–especially when that long haul is difficult. Biblical hope, however, lasts. Why? Because for followers of Jesus, our hope is not some inanimate feeling, it is a living thing.

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Morning Musing: Micah 7:6-8

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“Surely a son considers his father a fool, a daughter opposes her mother, and a daughter-in-law is against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own household. But I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will stand up; though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Do you consider yourself more of an optimist or a pessimist? Do you respond to the circumstances you are in by looking for the best explanation possible, or the worst? Now, this may be the point at which you’re expecting I’ll start explaining why you should be an optimist. Natural pessimists are already gearing up to explain why they’re not really negative, they’re just realistic. But I’m not going there. In fact, you can be optimistic and still wrong. As followers of Jesus, we are not called to be optimists. We are called to be a people of hope. That’s different.

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Morning Musing: Proverbs 18:22

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“A man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.”‬ ‭(CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

I don’t know about you, but yesterday was different for me. I didn’t do the normal things I do in the normal places or ways I do them. It wasn’t a bad day, and in fact it was a good day topped off by snuggling up with the two boys who are still willing to snuggle up with the third nearby watching the sequel to The Christmas Chronicles on Netflix (which I highly recommend). But it wasn’t normal. If it wasn’t a day rooted in gratitude, though, it wouldn’t have been a good day. Gratitude really does make a world of difference. I hope you’ve seen that this week. I hope more you’ve learned to practice it. At least, I hoped you’ve seen enough to encourage you to want to get started on it. Next week we’ll start something new and with the season of Advent in view like we did last year. As for today, here’s one more thing for which I’m thankful.

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Morning Musing: Psalm 100:4-5

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“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name. For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness, through all generations.”‬ ‭(CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Today is the day: Black Friday’s Eve! No? Kick-off to Christmas? Still not doing it for you? Fine, it’s the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Day! Okay, okay, I know what today is. Today is Thanksgiving. This is the day our nation has had set aside in some form of fashion for giving thanks (exactly to whom and for what is worthy of some attention another time) since the very earliest days of our nation. I suspect you have many traditions already set in place for today (plans that probably include our culture’s three great F’s—family, food, and football), but I hope you have some time set aside to be intentionally grateful and to practice that gratitude in some tangible ways. As for me, here’s another thing for which I am thankful.

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Morning Musing: Proverbs 18:24

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“One with many friends may be harmed, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Another day and another reason to be thankful. Today we’re going to be talking about something you really can’t do without, but which far too many folks are trying. Much research has shown the negative impact of a lack in this area. We live in a world today, though, where the very essence of this thing is misunderstood and twisted in ways that make having it in place in our lives much more difficult than it should be. So what is it? Here goes…

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