Tag: Today Is

“TODAY’S GIFT” by Tony Casson

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Time for another excerpt from the upcoming book, “Today Is….A Gift From God.” Today’s devotional is from May 22.

TODAY IS…

a terrific day to pray for others. 

“I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.”  Romans 15:30 NIV

Prayer is a gift from God. It is the ability to communicate directly with Him and seek comfort, ask for help, and – hopefully – to give thanks to the One who makes so much of value available to us. It is an opportunity for reflection, and a way to ask for guidance and direction in our lives. Prayer is also the first place we should turn when we are confronted with temptation. And we will be confronted with temptation.

But prayer is also a great way to fulfill the Lord’s instruction that we love one another and look out for one another. We can accomplish this by using prayer for the benefit of others.

Asking God to help us heal in times of great sadness or sorrow is perfectly alright, but asking God to help someone else find the strength to deal with a terrible loss or tragedy is a great way to help someone at times when we may feel unable to do anything. God can get to places in a person’s heart that we cannot, and He loves to hear our voices imploring Him to help.

We also need to consider the many people throughout the world that we don’t even know who work tirelessly, sacrifice much, and risk their very lives to share the Word of God with others so that they may experience the joy of a life that has been changed by knowing, and accepting, Christ Jesus.

In their struggles to spread the Good News, these brave men and women need our prayers of support. Just as Paul reached out to those who believed in his day to pray in support of his struggle, we should all pray for the many thousands who continue that struggle today.

There are many good reasons to pray. Our personal problems are among them. But it is also a beautifully Christian thing to take time to pray for all who need God’s help.

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“TODAY’S GIFT” by Tony Casson

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Time for another excerpt from the upcoming book, “Today Is….A Gift From God.” Today’s devotional is from March 29.

TODAY IS…

the right day for a little anger management. 

“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry…” James 1:19 NIV

The instructions given by James in this verse have been valuable ones for all who have read them since they were first written. Particularly when he admonishes everyone to be “slow to become angry.”

We are all familiar with the term “Anger Management,” and even though James did not use those exact words, managing our anger is exactly what he was talking about.

It would be the extremely rare individual, indeed, who never gets angry. Each of us gets pushed to the brink at some point in time. The reasons for our anger are an important consideration in managing how we react. When we become angry because of an injustice that we are witness to, the cause of the anger is justified, but how the anger is managed is important. Anger can move us to take positive action to correct a situation. Controlling our anger rather than letting it control us can be very helpful in certain situations and for certain reasons.

There are other types of anger that we should exercise even tighter control over. Anger borne of jealousy, a bruised ego, or a selfish perception of “hurt” is destructive and nothing good can come out of it. This type of anger damages relationships, hurts friendships, and accomplishes nothing positive.

Many of us know someone whose ‘flash-point’ is extremely low and is triggered by some perception of a wrong being perpetrated on them. The response to the most inconsequential thing sends them into a destructive, uncontrolled and potentially violent rage that is uncomfortable to witness and even causes friends and family to avoid that person in certain situations.

If this describes you or someone you know, it is important to listen to James when he says, “…for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” (James 1:20 NIV).

There are movies and television shows that treat Anger Management as a humorous subject. In real life, there is nothing at all humorous about uncontrolled anger. It may require a lot of work for some, but controlling our anger is important to each one of us, as well as those around us.

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“TODAY’S GIFT” by Tony Casson

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Time for another excerpt from the upcoming book, “Today Is….A Gift From God.” Today’s devotional is from October 14.

TODAY IS…

the ideal day to be thankful for the breath of God. 

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”   Genesis 2:7 KJV

It was not enough for God to form man. He also had to give him life with His own breath. With the breath of life, He also gave us the ability to become the vessel through which life is created again, and again, and again. From that very first breath, the world has increased in population until the number of people exceeds a staggering seven billion inhabitants of the world God created.

There is no person who walks this earth who is not alive as a result of that first breath of God and that is something we should all be thankful for. Every breath we take is a gift of love from God made possible with that first breath of man.

The breath of God not only gave us life, it has saved the lives of those who follow Him. As the Israelites were pursued by the army of Pharaoh, God intervened. In their Song of Deliverance, Moses and the people of Israel sang, “At the blast of Your breath, the waters piled up! The surging waters stood straight like a wall; in the heart of the sea the deep waters became hard.” (Exodus 15:8 NLT)

God did not create us to abandon us. Those who obey His simple instructions for life will always be able to count on the breath of God. Just as the Israelites saw the power of God’s breath when he parted the Red Sea so they could escape Pharaoh’s army, they saw His breath destroy those who would harm those who obeyed Him. “But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.” (Exodus 15:10 NIV)

When He sent His son to suffer and die so that our sins could all be forgiven and we could look forward to eternal life, He gave Him the power to fill His disciples with the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them He was sending them out as His Father had sent Him. “And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” (John 20:22 NASB)

It was the breath of God that gave life to all of mankind. It is the breath of God that fills us all with the Holy Spirit. It is the breath of God that saves us when we are in danger.

Every single time we take a breath, it is a gift from God, and we should take every opportunity to tell Him how thankful we are.

 

“TODAY’S GIFT” by Tony Casson

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Time for another excerpt from the upcoming book, “Today Is….A Gift From God.” Today’s devotional is from January 12.

TODAY IS…

a good day to deal with doubt.

“Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” John 20:27 NLT

How strong is your faith? How confident is your belief? Publicly, you may proclaim that your faith is unshakeable; that your belief is without reservation. Privately, there may be times when a shadow of doubt crosses your heart as a cloud sometimes crosses in front of the sun, blocking its light and its warmth.

The disciple Thomas not only needed to see Jesus’ wounds, he needed to feel them for himself before he was completely ready to believe that Jesus had truly risen from the dead.

Simon Peter’s faith was strong enough to trust Christ and step out of the boat onto the water. “‘Yes, come,’ Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.”  (Matthew 14:29 NLT).

His fear created doubts that caused him to start sinking making him cry out to Jesus for help. His doubts would surface again when Jesus was taken into custody and Peter denied three times that he even knew who Christ was, just as Jesus said he would. “Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, Peter – this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.'”  (Matthew 26:34 NLT).

God does not condemn us for our moments of human weakness that result in doubt provided we use our struggle with it to strengthen our faith. Since we are merely human, we should not allow it to shatter us if we have an occasional moment of doubt. It is during these times that we must rely on the Word of God to help us reach out and ‘touch the wounds of Jesus’ for ourselves and find the wisdom to strengthen our belief.

The apostle Thomas became known as ‘Doubting’ Thomas. He went on to become one of Christ’s most fervent apostles, traveling to India and founding the first Christian church there in A. D. 52 in the town of Parur, which is located on the southeastern coast in the state of Kerala. Ultimately, Thomas traveled farther than any of the other apostles including the indefatigable Paul who traveled much of the area bordering the northern and eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Simon Peter was originally Simon the fisherman. Jesus changed his name to Peter which meant ‘rock’. In describing Peter, He said “…upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matthew 16:18 NLT).

Peter did, indeed, become a ‘rock’ for Christ: He was the first to invite non-Jews to join the early church; he became the recognized leader among Jesus’ disciples; he was one of Jesus’ inner group of three; he went on to write 1 Peter and 2 Peter.

So. Do you sometimes have doubts? If you do, then you are in very good company. Use the Word of God to overcome your doubts, strengthen your faith, and do great things for the glory of God!

“TODAY’S GIFT” by Tony Casson

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Time for another excerpt from the upcoming book, “Today Is….A Gift From God.” Today’s devotional is from February 16.

TODAY IS…

a good day to accept the gift of God’s peace.

 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:7 NASB

World peace would be a nice thing to experience, wouldn’t it? A world without conflict is difficult for us to imagine. A world where the rights of others are respected and everyone looks out for each other would be – well, it would be heaven!

Heaven, indeed, for until Satan no longer rules the world, the above scenario cannot exist. Until the day Satan is removed from the picture, sin will continue to tempt all of us and mankind’s weakness will lead to selfish pursuits that will most assuredly cause others to suffer or create tension that results in war or strife somewhere on this planet.

So what, then, is God’s gift of peace? It is the gift that Christ promised His disciples that they would receive after He was gone and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27 NIV). This same gift is offered to all of us and if every one of us accepted it, we would have peace throughout the world. Unfortunately, far too many of us allow the forces of evil to rule our hearts and our minds, making the acceptance of this gift impossible. Those of us who do accept Christ and His gift of peace have His assurance that we can “…be content whatever the circumstances.” (Philippians 4:11 NIV). We have His assurance that we need not fear today or any day in the future. We have His assurance that the peace we will have in our hearts and minds will give us the strength to fight those forces which create doubt, uncertainty and apprehension within us and we have His assurance that God is in control.

If God is in control, we are safe. That does not mean that we will be exempt from the pitfalls of life, but when filled with the gift of God’s peace, we shine the light of God on those pitfalls and we can then accept them, deal with them, learn from them and grow as better Christians as a result.

All of this springs from the acceptance of the gift that was offered to the world when it was offered to the disciples by Christ. At the time, it is likely that none of them were fully able to comprehend the importance or significance of the gift itself. Nor could they completely appreciate the love with which it was promised. But once Christ had risen and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they surely must have felt the love and the strength that God’s peace instilled in them, for it enabled them to face rejection, ridicule, ignorance, hostility, persecution and even death as they worked tirelessly to share that gift of peace with the world.

Take time today to thank God for this gift and make every effort to share it with others.

 

“TODAY’S GIFT” by Tony Casson

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Time for another excerpt from the upcoming book, “Today Is….A Gift From God”. Today’s devotional is from March 3.

TODAY IS…

the perfect day to
work on a home worthy of God. 

“But who can really build Him a worthy home?”  2 Chronicles 2:6a NLT

As we all know, God cannot be contained within any dwelling of any size. Solomon acknowledged this fact but humbly accepted the task of doing his best to build a place of worship. Ninety feet long, thirty feet wide and thirty feet high, the gold used just to overlay the interior of the temple weighed “600 talents”, which calculates out to 46,000 pounds.

But does God require such a place? What good is a fine temple overlaid with gold if the quality of the faith, the reverence and love of those who go there to worship is not equal to its value? At the same time, if the spirit of worship is vibrant and the love of God is obvious through the worshipers’ love of their fellow man, does it matter if the place of worship is a barn or a backyard or a storefront in a strip mall?

If the home built for God is lined with gold but inhabited by individuals more concerned with the value of their building than the value of the hearts in the building, then of what value is the building itself to God? Is it really a worthy place in which to ask Him to bless those who worship there?

If the walls were made of wood and the hearts of those who worshiped there used the gold to feed the hungry and house the homeless, would God not consider this to be a worthy place to call home?

Comfortable, welcoming and functional are words that do not translate to expensive, flashy or ostentatious. Money spent on unnecessary adornments or luxuries is money not spent to do the work of God here on earth.

Do not judge a place of worship by its appearance or by the quality of the cars in the parking lot on Sunday. Find out about the work its members perform in God’s name and the prudent and effective use of the funds that are raised.

We wouldn’t want to donate $100 to a charity that spent $99 on administrative costs would we? So why would we spend money given to do God’s work on gold to impress God when God really cares less about what is on the walls than what is in our hearts.

The foundation of a home worthy of God begins in your heart. Knowing God will help you know how to build on that foundation and produce a home that is truly worthy of God.

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“Today Is…a good day for a sneak peak” By Tony Casson

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I know that I have been remiss in posting things here lately, but there is so much going on and I have so much to do in order to be ready for my release next May. I have many projects I am working on. The most significant thing has been completing all of the first drafts for my book of daily devotionals. My dear friend Diane has been hard at work interpreting my torturous printing and doing the typing to get it ready to be published as an E-book (hopefully in November…stay tuned). It is a major step for me in my walk with God, and I am humbled at the work He is doing through me. The title of the book is “Today Is….A Gift From God”, and I would like to share this entry for August 14 with all of you. Your comments would be deeply appreciated.

August 14

TODAY IS…

the perfect day to take back what has been stolen from us.

 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” 
Romans 16:20a NIV

            Every single one of us has had something stolen from us by Satan. No one has escaped except for Christ. We all have given into temptation and we all have sinned and every time we have sinned, we have allowed Satan to take something else from us. We have been his willing victims.

He has stolen dignity from some of us. From others, he has stolen decency. He has stolen our faithfulness to our spouses and our faith in God. He has stolen our truthfulness, and he has stolen our integrity. We have let him slip away in the darkness with our morality, and we have let him get away unnoticed with our kindness. He has pocketed our happiness, and smashed the windows to our souls and left the space empty. He has cheated us out of our love for ourselves, leaving us unable to love anyone else. He has conned us out of our certainty, leaving us with our doubts.

When we weren’t looking he walked away with our compassion, and left disdain in its place. While he distracted us with self-indulgence, he swiped our desire to help others and replaced it with selfishness. He has stolen our tolerance while trying to convince us that hostility and impatience were better suited to our personalities.

He has stolen our sight, making it impossible to see the pain of others and he has taught us to lie, cheat, and steal while we have hungrily pursued the education.

More than likely, what Satan has stolen from you is somewhere in this list. If not, it needs to be added, because everyone has lost something. Some of us have lost more than one thing, and perhaps more than a few have lost it all. He will try to prevent you from calculating your exact losses. He will try to cloud your judgment, distract you, or take something else from you. He pretends to be the best friend you ever had, but he is – in reality – the biggest danger you have ever faced. He will suck everything good out of you until there is nothing left but your last breath and then he will take that as well.

But the Good News is that today is not going to be like yesterday. Today we are going to take it all back. God has been waiting for today for a very long time, and He is glad that it is here. We must reach out and ask God to take our hand and tell Him we want everything Satan has stolen from us. Today is the perfect day to take it all back, and God is the PerfectOne to help us all get it.