The After-Oakdale Chronicles

the perfect day to look forward with confidence.

“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”  Deuteronomy 31:8 NLT

When Moses was 120 years old he passed the mantle of leadership to Joshua. Moses told Joshua that he could go forward with confidence and as this year comes to a close, we can all look forward to next year with confidence if our plan for the New Year calls for living to do God’s will.

Today marks the end of this year, and many of us are probably looking back at what we have been able to accomplish, or what we have left undone. Perhaps we are pleased with the way we have tried to live godly lives, or maybe we feel that we have somehow fallen a little short.

Could we have done more if we had done things differently?

Possibly, but we must never be too harsh on ourselves when applying hindsight. As we all know hindsight is always 20/20. But it is important that we try to look into our hearts to see if there are things we can – and should – ask God to help us change for next year.

If we are including God in our plans and if we are praying for guidance, wisdom, and to know His will for us, we can look forward with supreme confidence because we know He will be there clearing the way. We have His assurance that He will not abandon us and we know that when we ask Him to direct our steps and guide our thoughts and our actions, that He will never lead us in a direction that will harm us.

God will take our hand and show us how to serve Him by being compassionate, kind, generous, loving, concerned, caring, and helpful to everyone we meet.

We can choose a spectacular year of service and, “You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life.” Deuteronomy 30:20a NLT).

Increase the demands you make on yourself as far as your willingness to reach out to others in the year to come. Raise the bar for yourself and see how high you can reach. Keep God in your heart and think of Him always.

When we think of God first, we will find a way to do something good that will last.

Celebrate all the work you have done in this past year and then look to the future with confidence, knowing that the best is yet to come.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

the day to add to our list of resolutions.

“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”  Colossians 3:13 NLT

If we were all to live up to those instructions Paul gave in his letter to the Colossians, what a great year we would all have.

“Make allowances for each other’s faults….”

Think about that for a moment.

How often are we quick to point out another person’s faults? Sadly, many of us are more prone to do that than to expound on their good points. We often do this in spite of the fact that we have faults of our own. Christ Himself had something very specific to say about that.

“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5 NASB).

None of us is perfect, so we must use the gift of the coming year to accept each other as we are.

We must also learn to forgive those who do things to us because we are in need of forgiveness ourselves. It would do us all well to look to God daily for help in accepting other peoples’ faults, other peoples’ differences, and other peoples’ imperfections.

Not a single one of us will ever stand out like Christ as being perfect.

The best that we can do is lean on each other and rely on each other to work together to turn the world into the kind of place that God surely intended it to be when He first created it.

Sometimes we resist change because we know we cannot attain perfection.

Sometimes we don’t try to fix things because for every one thing we fix, there seems to always be another that is broken.

We allow our humanity to step in and paint a picture of impossibility in all that we see, but we must resolve to make the coming year one where we see nothing but possibilities.

Again we must look to Paul’s advice to the Colossians when he said, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15 NIV).

So we must resolve to answer the call to peace. If we are accepting and forgiving of others we can bring peace closer to all.

It shouldn’t take a resolution for us to be thankful, but let us all resolve to say, “Thank You” to God each and every day. When we consciously remember to thank Him, the other resolutions become easier to remember and a whole lot easier to make a part of every day of the year.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

a great day to make God’s will your will.

“For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.”  John 6:38 KJV

Many of us can testify to having acquired firsthand knowledge that living our lives as we saw fit did not turn out to be such a good idea.

Following our own desires, urges, wants, and impulses, many of us have found disappointment, disillusionment, despair, and maybe even a brush with death.

When we make God’s will our own, we begin to carefully consider what we are about to do and ask God if it meets with His approval. We use the lessons of the Bible to guide us, to give us wisdom, and to strengthen our hearts. These things enable us to understand a little better what God expects of us.

The Federal Government of the United States has put into place tens of thousands of laws and regulations that we are expected to know, and to follow. Every state, county, and city has followed with their own as well.

God’s list is a lot shorter, a lot easier to remember, and should cover just about every aspect of our life. It is a great irony that we could follow the will of the United States Government, the state, county, and the city in which we live, and obey each and every one of those tens of thousands of laws and regulations, and we could still be going against the will of God in many different ways.

Paul gave quite a few examples of God’s will in his first letter to the church at Thessalonica.

“We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for that is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 NASB).

God put us here and said, “Play nice.”

Like children in a sandbox, we see the toy the other kid has and we want it. We see one child paying attention to another child and we get jealous.

Play nice.

Love each other as brothers and sisters and treat each other as we want to be treated. These are not difficult concepts when we read them or hear them, but watching as God’s will is replaced with our will over and over again tells us that we are not quite committed to the concept.

For a better life for yourself and those around you, make God’s will your will today, and every day.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

the ideal day to spread it around.

“But He said to them, ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.’”  Luke 4:43 NASB

It’s easy to imagine crowds of people begging Jesus to stay with them. It must have been truly incredible to hear Him speak and to watch Him with the people He came to save.

We can all feel that same sort of possessiveness about Him if we have truly accepted Him, but we must do as He did, and help others to see the life that His death gave to all who want that life.

Adopting the resolutions of yesterday and making a promise to God to keep them alive throughout the coming year will go a long way towards helping others hear about the Kingdom of God.

After Christ rose from the dead, spent time with His followers, and then ascended to heaven, His apostles went out to do exactly as Christ wanted.

“And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” (Acts 5:42 NASB).

It was slow going back then.

There was no television or radio, no newspapers, magazines, or internet, and travel was on foot, by donkey, camel, or by boat. The message was shared person by person and town by town. But even today, if we are always sharing our faith by our words and by the way we live our lives, each day will have spiritual significance and will be special in the eyes of the Lord.

Our responsibility to spread the news is clear.

Like Paul told the members of the Church of Corinth, “You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Corinthians 4:5 NLT).

As we show others how to change their lives for the better, they too will become additional voices to be heard, and examples to follow.

It should come as no surprise that there is a resolution in this message. It is a resolution to help others by guiding them to the light, and to the life, that is found in Jesus Christ.

By making – and keeping – a resolution to spread the Good News and to live in a manner that is in accordance with God’s will, our own lives will be filled with so much joy, peace, contentment, and love that every other aspect of our daily existence will be blessed.

Making a resolution to share the Kingdom of God with others as Jesus did is a great way to start the New Year and an even better way to end this one.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

a wonderful day to look at things differently.

“How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?”  Psalm 116:12 NIV

As the New Year approaches, many of us look forward to the end of the current year saying, “I hope next year’s a lot better than this one!”

As if the stroke of midnight that changes one day to another holds a magical allure to us, we look at the approach of midnight, December 31, as a chance to “start over.” Of course, the only true way to start over is to accept Christ into our lives, repent of our sins, and ask God for His forgiveness, which really wipes our slate clean.

Be that as it may, perhaps God doesn’t mind a tiny bit of indulgence, so let us look at January 1 as a new beginning. There is no better time to prepare for the future than to use the Gift of Today to do it. As the New Year approaches, the pen and paper come out and ‘resolutions’ are made with which we hope to truly change in a positive way for the next year.

The most common resolutions are to lose weight and quit smoking. While these are both extremely important things to consider for our health and well-being, why don’t we look at things differently for next year, especially if we are among those who are glad this year is ending?

Let’s begin by looking back over the past year and taking note of all of the blessings we have received from God. Many of us will discover that some of God’s blessings accompanied those events which contribute to our looking forward to a new year. But if we think about it, we can see that we learned and grew as a result of those things and that God demonstrated His love for us time and time again.

We should be less thankful that the year is ending, and more thankful that God was with us every step of the way.

If we really want to change, we will need God’s help, so how about considering some of these suggestions for resolutions?

– I resolve to thank God every day for all He does for me.

– I resolve to look for Christ in every person I meet.

– I resolve to do something significant in service to God and my brothers and sisters each day.

– I resolve to spend less time on the couch and more time on my feet doing the Lord’s work.

– I resolve to pray for other people every day.

– I resolve to think more about God so that I am less inclined to think about things I shouldn’t.

– I resolve to think less of myself and more about those around me.

These are a few suggestions you can claim as your own and then say, “I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of His people.” (Psalm 116:14 NIV).

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

a great day to share the joy.

“…but the angel reassured them, ‘Don’t be afraid!’ He said. ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”  Luke 2:10 NLT

Somewhere not very far away from each and every one of us are people who are alone and whose lives are extremely challenging at this time of year.

Perhaps we have an elderly neighbor we are aware of who lives alone and received no visits from family. Maybe we know someone from work in a similar situation. Possibly there is a nursing home or hospital nearby.

People we may not even know need us.

They need us to spread the joy that we are feeling by bringing them cookies, brownies, candy, flowers – the list is endless really. They need us to wish them a “Merry Christmas!” and they need to feel as happy as we can possibly make them.

Millions of us will run off to stores and malls to return gifts that don’t fit or simply are not something we need or will use. Is shopping the best way to show our thanks for God’s gift?

Sharing is a much better way and it is one in which lessons can be learned by our children, and by ourselves.

Poor people are not always simply poor in a material sense. They can be lacking friends and family, or simply be poor in spirit. Stopping by a nursing home with boxes of cookies and a cheerful smile could be the best thing that happens this year to many of our forgotten brothers and sisters.

“As the Scriptures say, ‘They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.’” (2 Corinthians 9:9 NLT).

Sharing the joy of the season that everyone should experience does not have to be complicated, expensive, or terribly time consuming. But to see someone’s face light up because someone else has taken the time to wish them a “Merry Christmas!” will probably go into your memory bank as one of your most valuable deposits.

And as a lesson in sharing and fellowship for our children to learn, there are few opportunities that can come close to being this special or this important.

Making time for someone who is lonely is also making time for you to do the will of God and to share the joy that He gives you.

Cake, cookies, candy and kindness are all special things to share with someone near you. It just may turn out to be the best day of the year.

Use God’s Gift of Today to share the joy He gives you.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

an awesome day to thank God for the greatest gift of all.

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.”  Luke 2:11 NIV

As the title of this book reminds us, each and every day is a gift from God.

The days of our lives are precious, each and every one. They hold out promise and hope. The days of our lives are among the most valuable of all gifts that God gives us, and the different gifts He has given us are many, as the daily thoughts in this book have attempted to demonstrate.

But the most precious gift ever given by the One who gave us this world in which to live – and the very lives with which to enjoy it – was the gift of His Son Jesus Christ, the One whose birth would change the world forever.

Zechariah used these beautiful words to describe the gift that the world would soon be given: “Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.” (Luke 1:79 NLT).

Well, the morning has broken, and it is surely a beautiful day!

Jesus came to occupy our hearts, but it is not a forced occupation. We must want Him there, and we must seek the light that He will shine upon those dark areas of our souls to which we would like to say good-bye. We must desire the life that will come, when we learn the savior’s lessons, that will teach us to die to ourselves.

We must volunteer to serve and be willing to sacrifice all that we are and all that we have in order to receive all that He came to give.

Hopefully we are all aware that we must thank God each and every day for all of His grace, all of His love, and all of His mercy. But on this day that has been set aside to mark the arrival of the most valuable gift ever given, we must all be sure to give special thanks to God.

With this gift in our possession, we can feed those who are hungry, clothe those who are naked, house those who are homeless, and heal those who are sick.

With this gift we can refuse to fall prey to the temptations of the evil one and those he has corrupted on this earth.

With this gift we can live our lives in a significant manner and we can understand the concept of humble service to our brothers and sisters.

By accepting this remarkable, priceless gift of love, we can be better spouses, better parents, better friends, and better neighbors.

So let us all humbly, gratefully, joyfully, and tearfully accept this gift and say, “Thank You” to Almighty God.

Merry Christmas!

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

a superb day to pray for peace.

“God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.”  Matthew 5:9 NLT

All of the chaotic preparations of the season have begun to wind down.

Last minute shopping, wrapping, baking, cooking, traveling; all of these things begin to end and we are ready to enjoy our families, our friends, our neighbors.

Businesses begin to close early – those that are actually still trying to get things done – and a quiet begins to descend on our communities.

All that we have done to celebrate this time of year is acceptable to God. He loves to hear our laughter, and the sound of excited children. He loves our music and He wants families and friends to draw closer, be nicer, and love each other.

But God also wants each one of us to reach out and pray for peace throughout the world.

Some people laugh or become cynical at the mere thought or mention of world peace, but this is something that would truly please God because we cannot have peace throughout the world without people loving each other, respecting each other’s differences, and being concerned for each other’s health and welfare.

World peace is not something that is just for beauty pageant contestants to hope for, and it is certainly not something to laugh about or refuse to think about simply because we see so many obstacles to realizing it.

World peace should be in our prayers every day, but especially on this day.

We should gather our families and thank God for our good fortune and for the love we share with one another, and we should use this time as an opportunity to collectively ask God to use His power to help make us all kinder, gentler, and more compassionate. We should take this little bit of time to teach our children the importance of giving thanks and giving the gift of prayer for peace throughout this world that God created for us to share with one another.

Those who feel that world peace is impossible are the very people that Jesus Christ was talking about when He said, “You don’t have enough faith,’ Jesus told them. ’I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.’” (Matthew 17:20 NLT).

Use the gift of prayer and your faith to move the mountains of hate, war, persecution and oppression.

As we make final preparations to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, use the gift of this day to pray to God for peace throughout the world.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

a fine day to pray for satisfaction.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”  Matthew 5:6 NASB

Today we are going to pray again, only this time, our prayer will be for our satisfaction.

No?

Too self-centered?

Too selfish?

Christ said that if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we “shall be satisfied.” So if we take the gift of today and pray for God to, “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Psalm 82:3-4 NIV), are we not exhibiting a hunger and thirst for righteousness?

And are we not blessed by God for this and satisfied?

Prayer for other people who need it desperately will provide us with the satisfaction that we are reaching out to millions of people we will probably never meet, and are making a difference in their lives. Prayer to God is a powerful tool in the fight against injustice and there is little that is more unjust than starving children, orphans and others who live their lives in a simple daily quest of survival.

At this time of year, many people open up their purse strings in a generous spirit to give friends and family wonderful gifts that express their love. But there are so many millions who have nothing to give, and who need so much for themselves.

“Lord, You know the hopes of the helpless. Surely You will hear their cries and comfort them.” (Psalm 10:17 NLT).

But millions of people around the world do not know to cry out to God for help. It then becomes our responsibility to cry out for them.

While it is perfectly acceptable to smile, be happy, enjoy friends and family, and exchange gifts at this time of year, it is also a very important time to pray to God to give us satisfaction by calling upon Him to strike down those who would prey upon the poor and oppressed of the world.

“Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the afflicted.” (Psalm 10:12 NASB).

So many think that they can walk unnoticed upon the backs of the weak.

“But You see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in You. You defend the orphans.” (Psalm 10:14 NLT).

God understands that perhaps our finances are limited, so there is not much we can do, although we do all that we can. But the power of prayer can never be emphasized enough, so if we pray several times throughout the day for justice for the poor and the oppressed, we are doing something positive, something that will help, and something that will bring us satisfaction.

And today is a fine day to pray for that.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

a terrific day to whistle while you work.

“And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life – this is indeed a gift from God.”  Ecclesiastes 5:19 NLT

Attitude.

We all know people who have a good attitude, and of course those who have a bad attitude.

But what do people say about our attitude?

If our relationship with God is a strong one, our attitude about every aspect of our life will be upbeat, positive, and cheerful, and people will notice this.

“Perhaps,” you say, “But what about during times of loss and tragedy? Will we be ‘upbeat, positive, and cheerful’ then?”

Certainly there will be times when sadness will enter our lives. But our attitude toward whatever it is that is making us sad will have a definite affect on our ability to cope and people will notice this as well.

When our relationship with God is strong, we try to see lessons in everything that happens to us, and around us. We want to use whatever comes our way in this life to help us become closer to God. The right attitude will find us always relying on God when we face trying situations, but the right attitude will also find us thanking God, humbly, when the days of our lives are truly blessed with happiness as well.

Our attitude reaches into every corner of our life. It determines our willingness to accept another person despite whatever differences that we may have. It determines whether unpleasant or mundane tasks are undertaken with enthusiasm and the same level of attention to detail as those tasks we enjoy.

Our ability to “whistle while we work” grows out of a good attitude and a good relationship with God can help us to, “Pucker up and blow,” as Marilyn Monroe once said.

Ruth’s quiet determination to pick from the fields what was left by the harvesters reflected her good attitude towards work. Her industriousness was noticed by Boaz when he came to inspect his fields and he asked his foreman about her.

“The servant in charge of the reapers replied, ‘She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.’” (Ruth 2:6 NASB).

Her good attitude was rewarded even though she was looking for no reward. This is just a small example of how a good attitude can affect our lives in a positive way. Of course, it is important to ask God to help us always maintain a good attitude and a good relationship with Him will help to bring that about.

Our attitudes can reflect the selfishness of the world around us if we so choose, but an attitude that reflects the humility and self-sacrifice of Christ will help us to “whistle while we work.”

And that will be music to God’s ears.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson