This Is Day

Making the Most of Today

(This devotional was written by Jim Burns)

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. —Psalm 118:24

Today you were handed from God 24 hours to live life to the fullest. That's 1440 minutes or 86,400 seconds. Sometimes we get so busy and distracted we miss the fact that each rising, sun brings new opportunities and adventures on this planet we call Earth. God gives us one new day at a time so that we aren't distracted by the future or paralyzed by the past. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Make the most of today. Enjoy God's gift to you. You can accomplish a great deal with the 1440 minutes in a day. Today stop and take advantage of all that God has provided for you. Here are a few suggestions:

Tell someone you love him/her.

Write a kind note to a friend.

Stop and enjoy the sunset.

Take 20 minutes of the 1440 you have today and talk to God.

Memorize this verse: "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

The Walk Is Part Of the Gift

There is a Native American story about a schoolboy who appreciated his teacher and wanted to give her a gift she would enjoy. He knew that his teacher loved seashells. One weekend, the boy walked to the ocean—a twenty-mile distance—found a beautiful shell and walked back home. Monday morning, the boy gave his teacher the shell. She thought it was beautiful. It took a moment, but then it dawned on her what the boy had gone through in order to give her the gift. She asked the boy, "You mean you walked all that way to the ocean and back just to give me this shell?" The boy looked at his teacher, and with a tear in his eye, he said, "The long walk is part of the gift."

It can be tremendously easy to gloss over the suffering of Jesus, even while believing in His sacrificial death on our behalf. I confess that I over the years, I have become desensitized to the words of the gospels describing what Jesus went through. It's as if my mind passes quickly over Jesus' suffering and moves to the resurrection. The resurrection, of course, is the "feel good" part of the story! Everyone loves a happy ending! And we know that the "good news" of Jesus' resurrection is the ultimate happy ending! Yet, we would do well to linger a bit more on the Scriptures that tell the story of the pain and agony He undertook on our behalf to provide us with the gift of a restored relationship with God.

We must never forget nor take for granted Jesus' suffering as — "the long walk is part of the gift." As the prophet Isaiah foretold, "By his wounds, we are healed." Today, may we gain a fresh understanding of the extent and cost of God's love.

Written by Jim Liebelt


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Look Back!

It's funny but every now and then when I am holding my daughter, she looks back to make sure it's still me...

Isn't it the same thing we do with God? Even though we know that He has promised not to leave our side, we still find ourselves glancing back every now and then to make sure He's still there... And to our amazement, He still is! He was there yesterday, He is here today, and He will be here tomorrow too:)

Thank you Lord for being here always... even when I deserve to be left:)
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