THE POWER OF TODAY

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This He did when a long time later He spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

Hebrews 4:7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

What have you done today?

Yes, today.

Not yesterday or last week or last year. Not what you have planned tomorrow or in the days or months after.

What have you done today?

It’s a question we need to always ask ourselves because the Lord consistently blesses us with 24 hour periods where we have the opportunity and possibility to do great things in His name. All we need to do is seek His guidance and then carry it out.

Indeed, there is power in today and a contemporary Christian singer/songwriter, Chris Rice captured it in a verse within his song, Life Means So Much. You can catch the song later as it will be the Christian Song of the Day but here are the words:

Every day is a bank account

And time is our currency

So no one's rich, nobody's poor

We get twenty-four hours each

So how are you gonna spend

Will you invest or squander

Try to get ahead

Or help someone who's under

The point is that today you have the potential to make a difference in the lives of others in the name of the Lord, the One who has blessed you with the time, the One who has you purposed to do great and good things.

So what are you going to do? How are you going to invest this day that the Lord has made, one that we are to rejoice and be glad in like everyone He grants (Psalm 118:24)?

Just as the Psalmist saw the value in today, we read the writer of Hebrews driving the point home in his letter to the Jewish Christians. Look again at his words here:

God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This He did when a long time later He spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” v. 7

Just as God had made time as we know it, segmenting it out into seven day periods we call weeks and commanding that the seventh day be kept holy and free of labor (Hebrews 4:1-6, 8-11), He also is the Author and Creator of every day of life we enter into. He sets the day we call “Today” and expects us to open our hearts to Him and all He would have us do. Only someone who had hardened their heart against Him would do otherwise.

Unfortunately, the Old Testament Israelites had done just that. They stopped giving thanks for each day the Lord gave them, instead rebelling and disrespecting Him. He had delivered them from terrible situations, displaying His loyal devotion to them but they weren’t anywhere near as faithful to Him.

And so they turned away to chase after their own desires for their days and enlisted the help of worthless idols through worship. They allowed the enemy to drag their hearts away from the Lord who was with them and for them, the Lord who loved them and wanted to provide the best.

Friends, so many people go through the motions every day and being a Christian doesn’t somehow make you automatically immune. As we covered in yesterday’s message on God’s call to rest, there’s a lot of Christians who have allowed the world and its ways to dictate their actions and behavior, turning away in disobedience from the Lord who demands their full compliance with His wishes.

Maybe you are in this category as you read this and if so, there’s good news for you because the power of today also includes the strength to change your way of thinking and living. No matter what you may have done before now, you have the chance to start fresh and new, recommitted to be who the Lord wants you to be and do what He wants you to do.

My prayer for you is that you will do so on this day that He has blessed you with, a day full of budding potential to do something wonderful by the Lord’s bidding. Trust me when I say, you’ll never regret it and, frankly, I know you’ll find that a daily approach to seeking and carrying out the Lord’s ways will result in a life filled with more satisfaction, joy, and fulfillment than you ever dreamed possible.

It’s His hope for you today and every day.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.