2.9 - BEST USE OF TODAY

Have you thanked Him?
Have you praised Him?
Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?
Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?
1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)
The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as (ones) who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do. Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of these days. Don’t be vague but firmly grasp what you know to be the will of God - Ephesians 5:16 (PH)

How will you live today?

Yesterday several men filled the front two rows of our orientation pews at the Refuge. They were, at least for that moment in time, READY to LIVE LIFE differently; responsibly.

I pray they were ready to discover a “new” meaning to their lives. They HAD and will continue to experience some difficulties and consequences from years of poor decisions and addiction, but they were given NEW mercy yesterday as we ALL were. They, thanks to a FAITHFUL GOD, were getting the chance to MAKE a BETTER use of their opportunities and time!

I ask that you pray for them and the 90+ other men who are filling our beds this morning to EMBRACE today's CHANCE!

But Paul is ENCOURAGING all of us to do that; to SEEK God’s purpose, to make the best of what we have been given, to grasp the WILL of GOD today with ZEAL and HOPE embracing its newness and its possibility!

Be energetic in your life of salvation…That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you… 
Philippians 2:13 (MSG)

...we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for...
1 Peter 1:3 (MSG)

Will today have its struggles? I am sure it will.
Deadlines are still deadlines.
Project pressures are still project pressures.
Expectations will still "expect".

But when we WALK in the WILL of GOD purposefully, we are granted the ENERGY of GOD as Paul reminds. That affords us fresh perspectives. That opens new doors of creativity. That instills a new and fresh resolve and purpose.

Therefore…”make the best use of your time…” and start by saying…

“I will live today.
Yesterday is past.
Tomorrow is not yet.
I’m left with today.
So, today, I will live today.

Relive yesterday? No.
I will learn from it.
I will seek mercy for it.
I will take joy in it.
But I won’t live in it.
The sun has set on yesterday.

The sun has yet to rise on tomorrow.
Worry about the future? To what gain?
It deserves a glance, nothing more.
I can’t change tomorrow until tomorrow.

Today I will live today.
I will face today’s challenges with today’s strength.
I will dance today’s waltz with today’s music.
I will celebrate today’s opportunities with today’s hope.
…laugh, listen, learn, and love today.” - Lucado

I love you all.
Have a blessed today!

Opportunities for Hope (Champions Charge)