April 3

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

a perfect day to take no chances.

“She defiled herself with immorality and gave no thought to her future. Now she lies in the gutter with no one to lift her out. ‘Lord, see my misery,’ she cries. ‘The enemy has triumphed.’”  Lamentations 1:9 NLT

Jeremiah was writing about Jerusalem’s refusal to listen and ‘her’ insistence on giving in to immorality and sin. The warnings were all given, repeatedly, but they were ignored. The temptation of sin proved too great and all of those who chose to ignore God’s warnings paid the price.

It is important that each one of us heed God’s warnings and turn our backs on immorality and sinful pleasures. Perhaps we have crossed the line once; twice; three times or more, and gotten away with it. No one said the price that we would pay for our behavior would be paid immediately.

But it will be paid.

Sometimes the freedom to do whatever we want becomes the desire to do everything, regardless of the consequences. When we allow ourselves to become slaves to sin, we can no longer be servants to the Lord.

When our focus is taken off of God, and placed on things we know are in direct conflict with what we have been taught, then we stop living in Christ. “No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.” (1 John 3:6 NIV).

None of us wants to pay the price for the pleasures of sin that Jerusalem paid. God has proven His patience time and time again. But it is not wise for any of us to continue to test it. The Lord has His limits and we do not want to push beyond them until we are “in the gutter” with no one to lift us out.

Take no chances. Minimize your risks. Follow the Word of God diligently and faithfully. If you stumble, God will surely help you to regain your footing.

But let there be no mistake. If you decide to ignore the Word of God and pursue immorality and sin, there will be a price to pay. It is best to not chance finding out what it is.

*******

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

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April 2

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

an excellent day to comfort and encourage others.

“Therefore comfort one another with these words.”  1 Thessalonians 4:18 NASB

One of the Apostle Paul’s first letters was written to the church he had established at Thessalonica around A.D. 5. Christianity was young and for many there was a high price to pay for being a follower of Christ. Paul’s letter was meant to reassure them, for there was confusion among them as to when Christ would return. Many thought that His return would be sooner rather than later and Paul sought to reassure them that while there was no way to know when, it would indeed happen as the Lord had said. In his letter he sought to comfort and encourage them and he stressed the importance of each one of them being there to comfort and encourage each other.

In today’s world, more than ever before, it is important that we all heed Paul’s words and offer comfort and encouragement to those around us. Today, and every day, we should offer ourselves as living examples of the strength, the joy and the peace that comes with the knowledge that Christ will return as promised. In the meantime, we must follow the example of Jesus and the words of Paul and reach out through our actions and our own words and offer comfort and encouragement to others.

Many new believers have a very tentative grip on their faith. Absorbing the beauty of God’s teachings can be overwhelming and those individuals may need the support of one who has had time to fully appreciate all that God expects of us and all that He has promised us.

In a letter to the church at Corinth a few years later, Paul stressed the importance of teaching, and of reaching out to others. “But everyone who prophecies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement, and comfort.” (1 Corinthians 14:3 NIV).

Some of us may think that we are not up to the task of teaching, but one doesn’t have to stand up in front of a group in a classroom to teach the lessons of Christ. All one needs to do is reach out to others in love and friendship and offer support, comfort and encouragement.

When we do this, we will not only be helping other human beings, we will be helping ourselves to fulfill God’s wishes.

*******

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

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April 1

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

a good day to not be fooled.

“For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”  1 Timothy 6:10 NASB

Do not allow yourself to use material success as a sign of God’s approval. Many people equate one with the other when they have very little to do with one another. Some individuals of extremely modest means live lives that are devoted to following God’s instructions, living in a manner that pleases God, and work tirelessly to help others live and grow with the Spirit of the Lord inside them. Conversely, there are many individuals who have experienced tremendous material success who do not have God’s approval. In order to not be fooled or influenced by anything other than the truth, we must always look to the individual and not the material for signs of that approval.

Happiness is not the only thing that money cannot buy. It cannot buy God’s grace, peace, joy, or a place with God in Heaven. The only currency accepted by God is the currency of faith. The only payment that will cancel our debt to the Lord is belief. The only check that can be written to satisfy our obligation to Jesus Christ cannot be written against funds we have in the bank. It must be written against the love we have in our hearts for the Lord, and for our fellow man.

Many of us experience frustration from time to time by the success of others and mistakenly attribute that success to God showing more love to them than to us. Do not be fooled; do not be tempted; do not be swayed.

It is becoming increasingly more difficult to escape the emphasis that is placed on having more, buying more, living grander, and chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

But don’t be fooled. The real treasure is in the rainbow itself, which is a gift from God.

Live a life that is true to the teachings of the Lord; give of yourself to others; be thankful to God each day for the very air you breathe; smile for the benefit of others, and you will find out one day, that those who have lusted after money and compromised their very souls have been the ones who have been fooled.

*******

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

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March 31

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

the day to believe what you are hearing.

“Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.”  Jeremiah 32:8c NASB

Trust does not come easily for many of us. Given our suspicious human nature, how can we be sure that what we are hearing really is coming from the Lord? Will any of us encounter a voice in a burning bush? It would be foolish to say that would never happen, but there just aren’t that many recorded instances of it occurring. It is also not likely that we will get a letter, an email, or a phone call from Him either.

Asking God to fill us with the Holy Spirit enables us to “hear” what He has to say to us. When we are full of God’s spirit, it is the same as having all of those direct lines of communication open and operating. Some may think that this is silly, but those who “hear” God talking to them regularly know that it is anything but silly.

Since direction that comes from God is given through the Holy Spirit, it is important that we allow ourselves periods of peace, calm, and tranquility so we will be able to receive our direction clearly. Let there be no mistake; God has promised us that He will guide us. He has promised us that He will help us. We should follow the example of Abraham who “…was fully convinced that God is able to do anything that He promises.” (Romans 4:21 NLT).

Not only do we have to be willing to believe what we are hearing, we must be ready to believe. For God will answer when the time is right. “But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.” (Galatians 4:4 NLT).

We must trust, we must listen, and we must be ready. When we have properly prepared our hearts and our minds; when the right question has been asked and God feels we are ready for His response, we will truly “hear” His answer.

It is up to us to believe what we are hearing.

*******

 

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

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March 30

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

a fine day to look at the world around you.

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and the sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”  Romans 1:20 NLT

Many individuals without the benefit of vision will tell us that even someone who is blind can “see” the evidence of God’s existence in the world that surrounds us. They will tell us all about the beauty of flowers; about the nurturing refreshment of the rain; about the perfect melodies sung by the birds. By connecting all of the other gifts of smell, taste, hearing, and touch with two of God’s most incredible creations – the heart and the mind – even those whose visible world is in darkness can “see” the beauty, and the love, that is God.

For those who have the added gift of sight, there is no excuse for not being able to recognize that only a God of beauty and love could have created the heavens and this earth and filled it with the incredible assortment of plants, creatures, and human beings that we see when we look at the world around us.

Unfortunately, there will always be those who find it difficult to believe God exists. There will even be those who will deny that He exists. It is beyond human comprehension how anyone with eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to feel can possibly deny that what we experience when we look around us could only be the work of someone larger than the work itself. It could only be the work of a being of amazing vision and extraordinary power. But it could also only be the work of someone of incredible kindness, love, and caring.

Many people choose to see only that which is ugly in the world and use it to either blame God or deny that He exists at all. We must remind them that it is the choices that man makes, not God, which creates that which is ugly. We must point out that what God created was perfect. All imperfections came about as a result of all the things the Bible teaches us to avoid. “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” (Galatians 5:19-21a NIV).

Whenever you look around at the world, see what God made. Appreciate, and give thanks for, a world so beautiful, it can be seen even by the sightless.

*******

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

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March 29

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Tony Casson

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.

*******

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

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March 28

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

a wonderful day to love the Lord.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”  Deuteronomy 6:5 NASB

“But I love Him every day!” we say. And while this may not be a completely false statement, can each of us say that we do it exactly as God wants us to?

If we closely examine each and every moment of yesterday, did we show our love for God in everything that we said and did? Did we speak harshly to someone when we could just as easily have held our tongue? Did we harbor thoughts about people that were inappropriate or against God’s teachings? Did we spread gossip about others around us? Did we engage in inappropriate activities?

We all know that how we live our lives and how we interact with those around us are all clear indicators of how we feel about the Lord. Does God expect us to be perfect each and every moment of each and every day? Of course not. If we were capable of being perfect, we would be… well, we would be God, and we know not one of us comes close.

So, if we can never be perfect; if we will always fail in ways both large and small; if thoughts and actions will always escape us that are in direct conflict with what we know God expects of us, how then can we possibly do what Moses instructed the Israelites to do so very long ago?

The answer is not as complicated or difficult to arrive at as we may think.

Many of us have had experience with very small children. Teaching them is not a one-time deal. They require constant attention, constant reminding, and constant correcting. We must all look at ourselves as small children when it comes to our relationship with God. We must constantly be reminded and corrected by Him and the way He does this is through His Word.

By taking time each day to read the Bible, meditate on its meaning, and think about where we might have fallen short yesterday in showing our love for God through the way we dealt with those around us and the way we conducted ourselves, we are, in fact, demonstrating that we do understand the words of Moses.

When our children look up at us and say they are sorry for something they have done, we know they are expressing their love for us.

And God knows as well when we look up to Him and do the same thing. He does not expect us to express our love for Him by being perfect. He expects us to express our love by being aware of our imperfections and always asking for His help in improving.

*******

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

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“And On The Third Day….”

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Tony Casson

 

“”….He Rose From The Dead”

“But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”  Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,“Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.” (John 20:11-18 ESV)

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words,and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.”  (Luke 24:1-12 ESV)

“When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” (Mark 16:1-8 ESV)

“Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.  And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.  But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he[a] lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.'” (Matthew 28:1-10 ESV)

What more can I add to that?

HE IS RISEN! PRAISE GOD!

(Originally posted in 2015)

 

 

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March 27

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

the day to refuse to be discouraged.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.”  James 1:2 NLT

Great joy? How can we ever be expected to find joy in hardship and troubles? These things generally have a way of tugging us downward and it becomes easy to be discouraged. Many of us have a tendency to turn inward and become sullen and angry. With all of this negativity swirling around us, where do we get the strength to fight the feeling of discouragement?

If we have learned the lessons the Bible has held out to us, we should be able to remind ourselves that troubles will come to all of us. This is simply a fact of life. A strong relationship with God does not always insulate us from the difficulties that all human beings face here on earth. What our relationship with God does do for us is give us the knowledge that our faith can turn the pain or hardship of whatever we are facing into an opportunity to learn and to grow.

We can erase the negativity of being discouraged and replace it with a positive outlook, secure in the knowledge that God is with us, just as He was with David. When the Lord rescued him from all of his enemies and from Saul, David was so thankful he sang, “…my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.” (2 Samuel 22:3a NLT).

Every time we refuse to be discouraged when we are confronted with problems in our lives, our faith is strengthened and our love for God and complete trust in Him is evident not only to Him, but to those around us as well. No one expects us to put on a false face of happiness in the midst of all of our troubles, but a positive outlook, borne out of the knowledge that God will give us all that we need to make it through any situation, will radiate from us and will set a good example for others.

Life is going to deliver each and every one of us some bad news and trying times. This much is a certainty. With a strong relationship with God, we can all remain focused on getting through whatever it is and we can all refuse to be discouraged.

*******

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

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“The Day In-Between”

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Tony Casson

“Sitting In Stunned Silence”

Try to imagine what was taking place in the lives of those who loved Jesus  and had witnessed his brutal execution one day earlier. Much has been written about that day as well as the third day, when Christ rose from the dead, but what was life like for those who were the closest to Christ before His death on “The Day In-Between”?

Most of us have dealt with the death of someone we love; deaths which come about simply as a result of old age, as well as those that are sudden and unexpected. Those of us who have experienced the sudden and untimely loss of someone can probably recall how we were stunned into silence born of disbelief.

I remember when my best friend, Tommy Meister, was killed driving home after an evening of partying at my house. Awakened by a phone call at around 3 AM by another friend who informed me of the news, I was stunned into silence for several minutes before I broke into uncontrollable sobbing. For days and days – perhaps even weeks – following his death, there would be periods of sobbing, but there were many more times where all I could do was sit in that stunned silence of disbelief.

How could God allow this to happen? Tommy Meister was a very good person. He was only 17 and had his entire life before him. He was kind, compassionate. gentle and soft-spoken. He was capable of making those who were not generally accepted or well-liked by others (yours truly, for example) feel special. Tommy was a young man people gravitated to, much like Jesus. In fact, Tommy, with the long hair and beard popular in the 70’s, even looked like the illustrations of Jesus Christ we have all seen.

So what about the thousands and thousands of people who had the unimaginable privilege of seeing Jesus and hearing him speak? What could have gone through their minds? And what about those who were closest to him? How did they deal with the aftermath of His execution in-between the time of His death and His resurrection? Certainly there were the sounds of weeping and the wails of grief, but there also must have been blank stares of disbelief and stunned silence at what had transpired the day before.

Did they blame God?

I watched Mel Gibson’s “The Passion Of The Christ” again yesterday, as I wrote I was going to. I must be honest and tell you, I was rather taken aback by how intense my reaction was as I used the vividness of Gibson’s film to help my mind connect with what actually happened that day. I was alone in my room and  sobbed uncontrollably at several points as I thought back to the pain and suffering He endured on our behalf.

And I paused the DVD several times and sat in stunned silence, contemplating the truth of His crucifixion.

The women who portrayed His Mother and Mary Magdalene appeared stunned and disbelieving throughout the film. How horrible it must have been for the real women who loved Him to witness His brutal murder. How empty the day after must have been for them as they tried to accept the fact He was gone.

Think about the other things that occurred the day before which must have contributed to their collective disbelief: Judas’ betrayal and consumption by guilt leading to his suicide; Peter’s denying His Lord three times out of fear for his own personal safety; the abandonment by the rest of His apostles and others who had followed Him; the realization that He had foretold of the events they had just witnessed and what must have been the certain knowledge of their personal failures of faith.

Each person, stunned into silence by the murder of the Son of God.

Before we move forward into the glory of the Third Day and that perfect ending to a shockingly painful story, perhaps we could all use the day in-between to spend a few moments in our own stunned silence and give thanks to the One who took on an unbelievably heavy burden so that the opportunity to be free of our burdens is there for the asking.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of this “Day In-Between”.

Amen.

(Originally posted in 2015)

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