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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March 26

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

a superb day to clean out your closets.

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”  Romans 3:23 NLT

It does not matter what skeletons we may have in our closets, we are not alone. It is important that we understand this, for that is the first step in cleaning those skeletons out, wiping our spiritual slate clean, and discarding the tremendous emotional, spiritual, and even physical burden of dark sins or behaviors.

In a human sense, it is important to know that we are not alone no matter what secrets we may be hiding or destructive habits we may indulge in. If we live all, or parts, of our lives secretly, we need to clean out our closets.

There is simply nothing more destructive to us as individuals than to have behaviors that we feel must be kept secret from our families, friends, and business associates. The knowledge that our closet is full of skeletons that could come tumbling out at any moment is always there, lurking in the recesses of our minds. This knowledge weighs heavily on our hearts, lowers our ability to be open and honest with others in many ways, diminishes our self-esteem, and impedes our ability to love ourselves which, in turn, impedes our ability to truly love others in a fresh, honest, healthy way.

So what kind of tools are needed for this spiritual closet-cleaning? The Holy Bible is the most effective one. Any spiritual cleansing must begin by asking God to forgive what we have been doing – whether the secrets we are hiding are sexual promiscuity and infidelity, alcohol or drug abuse, or an addiction or obsession with pornography; no matter what the behavior is, the first step is always to turn to the Lord and ask forgiveness.

After that, pray for the courage, wisdom, strength, and desire to do all of the things that must be done to empty out those dark spaces where the secrets have dwelled.

Seek counseling; make apologies to a spouse, friend, or other family members; seek out support groups and draw from the strength and experiences of the many others who are just like you.

Cleaning out our closets can be very difficult. It can take a lot of time, effort, and even some pain. But in the end, the darkness will be replaced with happiness, joy, and God’s grace.

The Bible is your spiritual broom. Pick it up today and use it to clean out your closet.

*******

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

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“5 Minutes & 16 Seconds”

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Tony Casson

If you are a Christian,

the video below contains the most difficult 5 minutes and 16 seconds of film you will ever watch. The accompanying song, “Carry My Cross” is performed by Third Day and somehow helps to transform the tears generated by the graphic imagery of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” from tears of pain and grief at the way our Lord and Savior was savagely beaten to tears of joy and triumph at the end when His words in John 10:17-18 are displayed and we are reminded that He died willingly, obediently, and for each and every one of us because He loves us.

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March 25

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

an outstanding day to remember.

“This is a day to remember.”  Exodus 12:14a NLT

Each new day that God presents to us as His gift should be met with the desire to make it a day to remember. While Exodus 12:14 was originally God’s instruction to the Israelites to remember the night He passed over those houses that were marked with the blood of a lamb or goat, sparing the lives of the first born sons of all the Israelites, we should all take heed of those words and make every day that He gives us one to remember. We should show our love and our gratitude by making each new day a day of significance in our lives.

When we spend time regularly reading the Bible and meditating on the Word of God, we will discover a multitude of ways to make each new day one to remember. The thing that is important to bear in mind is this: Don’t make it complicated.

We often allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by God and what He is capable of as well as what He does for us on a daily basis. Some of us may feel inadequate when compared to Him, but that in itself is a mistake. We simply cannot compare to the Almighty Father but the best thing to remember is – He doesn’t expect us to! So, rather than get all entwined in feelings of doubt and inadequacy, rejoice for God has given us the ability to do just what He expects of us. And by doing those things that God expects us to do, we are making each day significant in the eyes of the Lord and therefore we are making each day a day to remember.

Letting people see the Lord reflected in us is a great way to start. Being friendly, upbeat, supportive, cheerful, caring; all of these things will demonstrate to others how they can be if they allow God to work in them as well.

Dropping unused clothing at a place that helps those in need is another way to make today significant and memorable. Going to the store to buy some canned fruits, vegetables, and meats then dropping them off at a food bank is another way.

The Bible will guide your heart and your heart will direct your actions. Your actions will then make today, and every day, significant and they will all be days to remember.

*******

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

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A Very “Good Friday”

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Tony Casson

“Defeating Death”

“They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”  So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. (John 19:15-17 ESV)

Jesus had been silent throughout most of the proceedings and as they led Him away, He continued His silent acceptance of what was about to happen. Even though He knew He would shortly suffer a horrible death, He also knew that His blood had to be shed to wash away the sins of the world.

In the spring of 2005, my sister Kathy, and her husband, Larry, arranged a vacation at a beach house in Myrtle Beach, SC. At the time, I was living in Hollywood, FL taking care of our mother and our step-father, who had suffered a stroke several months before. I drove them to Myrtle Beach, where we were all joined by several other family members for a relaxing week at the beach.

Everyone else went off on an excursion one day, and I remained behind, claiming I just wanted to relax. The truth is, I wanted to snort some cocaine, smoke some pot, and drink a few beers. You know….’relax’.

I did all of those things, but I also did something else. I watched Mel Gibson’s “The Passion Of The Christ”, which someone had left lying next to the TV. I was still very, very far from considering myself a Christian at that point, but I was curious as I had heard so much of the controversy surrounding the film. Admittedly, I was mesmerized by it even though I was still fully engaged in my private, undeclared ‘war’ with God.

Gibson’s interpretation simply has to be as correct as the human imagination can possibly make it. When I watched it back then, I watched it without devoting any thought to the real events of that day. I will be watching it again today, but from a different perspective: I will be watching it as one who has experienced the saving power of the blood shed by the One who really died that day.

This time there will be tears of gratitude in my eyes for the pain He endured on my behalf. I will also be watching it with sadness at the pain He experienced, but at the same time, I will be watching with joy for the reason He experienced it. I was the reason. You were the reason. All of us. He died for all of us.

But do “all of us” know what that means?

For me, the shedding of His blood washed away the blood that covered my body in August of 2009 as I lay dying on that shower floor. The blood He shed as His life left His body enabled me to ask God for forgiveness and receive new life for myself.

Jesus defeated death for all of us by dying on the cross. Whereas my death that morning in south Florida would have affected only those who knew me, the death of Jesus Christ that day affected, indeed changed, the entire world.

I pray we all think about that today.

the-passion-of-the-christ-05

And thank Him.

(Originally posted in 2015)

 

 

 

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March 24

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

a good day to swallow your pride.

“Pride only breeds quarrels…”  Proverbs 13:10a NIV

We have all been there. We have all faced the brick wall of stubbornness – ours, or that of a loved one, friend, or business associate. We have all said, “I did nothing wrong. If anyone needs to take the first step it is him (or her).” Sometimes many of us may feel that we are always the ones to apologize or hold out the hand of peace even when we are certain in our minds, and in our hearts, that it is the other person who is wrong and is the one who should apologize.

There are several ways to look at situations such as this and one of them may be that if we closely examined our part in whatever the conflict might be, perhaps we are not as “innocent” as we have convinced ourselves that we are. If we look closely, we might see where we said or did something that technically was right, but we knew (even if we didn’t acknowledge it at the time) would set the other person off. Perhaps it was not intentional, but retrospect reveals that the point we pushed so hard didn’t really need to be pushed at all in most cases.

No matter how we arrived at this impasse, we are here. So now what? Letting pride get in the way and allowing it to drive a wedge in your relationship – personal or professional – is definitely not the right thing to do. In fact, it is most definitely the wrong thing to do. If we allow pride to prevent us from closing the gap that conflict has created, we are allowing darkness to hold sway over us.

More than likely, if we step back and think about which one makes us feel better – being stubborn and angry, or ignoring our pride and making the conflict disappear – we will decide that swallowing our pride is far less painful than the discomfort we will have to carry in our hearts if we allow the situation to continue.

Do we have to apologize for something we did not do? Of course not. We can be sorry we pushed so hard on an issue we knew was important to the other person. We can just say we are sorry that we have allowed anything to impede the relationship.

Asking God to help out and guide us to the words that will bring peace and healing is a good way to push out the darkness that is the harbinger of pride.

We would all prefer to swallow a succulent piece of fruit or a deliciously tempting piece of chocolate; but sometimes what we must swallow is simply our pride.

*******

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

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March 23

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

the ideal day to do God’s Will.

“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.”  Psalm 16:7 NIV

Here is a little prayer that might help to put us all in a fire-starting mood:

If it is God’s will,
I will!
If it is His desire,
It will be my fire!

Determining what God wants us to do isn’t as difficult as some of us make it. All that is required is to ask Him. Reading the Bible, meditating on what we read and listening with our hearts for His answer are important. Far too often we ask questions and immediately get wrapped up in our busy lives, never taking the all–important time to look, and listen, for His response.

Many times we set off with the intention of carrying out plans we have made and then take a moment or two to ask the Lord to bless those plans. Horses do not push carts, they pull them, so we mustn’t put the cart before the horse. We must ask God what He would have us do. By placing God first in our lives, we will learn to identify what His will is, and if we are doing His will, He will give us all the help we will need.

After teaching a crowd while standing in Simon’s boat, anchored a little off the shore of Lake Gennesaret – also known as the Sea of Galilee – Jesus instructed Simon to go out in deep water and drop his nets. “Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.’” (Luke 5:5 NIV). Of course we all know that the result of doing the Lord’s will was nets so full that they began to break. They needed to get help from another boat and both boats were soon so full, they were on the verge of sinking.

Even in the middle of all that water, the fishermen were on fire. They were rewarded for doing what the Lord wanted them to do. When the lives we lead, are led by the will of God, the excitement we will experience will have a combustible quality to it; we will feel as if we will burst into flames of joy at any moment, so intense will be our desire to do God’s will.

Perhaps it will never be as easy for us, or as clear as it was for Simon. The Lord may not be physically standing in front of us, but He is there, calling us forward, and He is in our hearts. It is there that our ability to “hear” Him resides, and it is important that we always listen.

Make today the day you light the fire of your passion to do God’s will.

*******

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

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