FOR TODAY ONLY
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34).

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is yesterday with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.
All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act performed. We cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone.
The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow with its possible adversaries, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise until Jesus returns. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.
This leaves only one day -- today. Any man can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities -- yesterday and tomorrow --that we break down.
It is not the experience of today that drives men mad -- it is remorse or bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Let us, therefore, live but one day at a time.


“The Indians Are After Me, But…”
Charles Williams

Back in the mid 80’s I had the pleasure of driving across South Dakota to Rapid City. It was quite an experience seeing the heads of great statesmen carved out of solid stone on Mount Rushmore. On the way, we pulled into Wall, South Dakota. We just could not help ourselves because we kept seeing these signs “Visit Wall Drug: See the History of the West.” We must have counted over 25 signs along the interstate in the middle of nowhere encouraging us to visit. I can tell you that it is no ordinary drug store. It has thousands of square feet displaying just about everything you can buy that has a western flavor.
Life out west in the 19th century had to have been a great adventure. Sometimes, however, the search for new land and riches went to the extreme and many lost their lives. They had misplaced values. Charles Hill of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, tells the story of a sign he saw in the Wild West Museum in Deadwood, South Dakota, which is just beyond Rapid City. The inscription on the sign read, “I lost my gun. I lost my horse. I am out of food. The Indians are after me. But I’ve got all the gold I can carry!” That is a great positive attitude but he was not facing reality. No matter how you look at it, you just can’t eat that gold. Another example given of this attitude is the story portrayed in a movie where a group of hikers found the body of a hijacker and his bag of ransom money. They were elated to find such a treasure, but later that night a snow storm blew in, jeopardizing their new found gain and survival . They divided the money and set off in pairs in different directions, not knowing for sure which way to go. Only one pair survived by burning their money to keep warm. The other two froze to death rather than parting with their riches.
Material riches can blind a person to reality and what is really important in life. Spiritual riches however, connect us to God and eternity. They are not always tangible, but they are “incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fade not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time,” 1 Peter 1:4-5. We know this because of the promises of God.
The Lord expects us to take care for our personal selves and our families by supplying their every need, but we also need to think about God’s family and the work of the kingdom during these trying times. There are those things we want but can do without. There are those things we want but we can wait until later. There are those things we need and cannot do without for the sake of surviving in this world. However, there are also those things we simply cannot keep to ourselves for the sake of the kingdom and for the sake of reaching the world with the good news of Jesus Christ.
We have to provide for our physical needs and those of our family. To not do so is to be worse than an infidel (1 Timothy 5:8). However, it would be a sad commentary for a person to have accumulated in his “barns” (Luke 12:18-21), but to have done little to feed his spirit or that of others.
It reminds us of the inscription in the Wild West Museum, “…but I’ve got all the gold I can carry!” There is no doubt we are living through some very difficult times, which means that we will all need to be very careful how we spend the money the Lord has lent to us. We need to be good stewards more than ever. Let us be sure we do not forget that we still have good works and missions to support that make a difference in the spiritual welfare of many lives.

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EXPECTATIONS

The late Will Rogers once said, “The difference between winning and losing any contest begins long before the game starts…and it is no secret. The winner expects to win…the loser just hopes”. One remarkable quality of the apostle Paul was the quality of expectation. He knew, because of his relationship to the Father, that he was going to win. It was confidence and assurance that God was going to give him success (victory): See Romans 3:28; 2 Tim. 4:7, 8, 18; 2 Cor. 11-12.
That same God is alive today. He is able to instill in all His children that same confidence of victory. We have hope in Christ, but we must also have expectation.