Thursday, May 8, 2008

WELCOME TOMORROW!

"Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning . . . ." (Job 42:12)

Today I will live in the now! I will live in the now because, even though I am living my life with an appreciation for the present, I know that I have so much more to look forward to in the future! I am open to the possibility that tomorrow will be better than today, as I go from glory to glory and grow up in God. I will not let anything negative from yesterday determine the quality of tomorrow!
Today I will not dread what I have to face in the future, but I will confidently move toward my goals, regardless of the unpleasant things that I may encounter along the way. I will deal with whatever I have to deal with when the time comes, and will not hide from hardship or run from responsibility.
Today I will use my current experiences as a proving ground for future promotion. I will be faithful over a few things, so that I will be qualified to be a ruler over much down the road. Discipline is doable for me because I have a vision; so, I will be a good steward over my regular routine, knowing that I will reap in due season if I do not faint.

Today I will plan my work, and work my plan. I will see the big picture everywhere I look, and will lay a foundation through my diligent efforts and godly work ethic in the now for success tomorrow. Because I know that there is no such thing as luck, I will be a doer of the Word with great expectations. I will not be afraid of hard work, but will partner with God in the realization of my own destiny.

Today I will not be afraid to be radically optimistic, even if I come across to others as unrealistically idealistic! I will not quit until I find the cloud's silver lining; I will not leave the theatre until my movie has a happy ending. God's picture of Kingdom fulfillment for my life is being painted on the canvas of my heart by the Word and the Holy Spirit, and He will finish what He started!
Tonight I will rest well, confident that tomorrow will be a brighter day than today. Joy will come in the morning when and where His mercies are always new for me. I will not just get up tomorrow morning – I will rise up!
Today I will patiently pace myself as I persistently prepare for progress, thereby producing a prognosis for prosperity! My adventures in the now will take me to the next level of discovery, as I watch for the dawn of a new day. Today I will believe that the best is yet to come, and today I will live in the now!


Father, help me to prophetically prepare myself for tomorrow today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

32 comments:

Ebony said...

I'm fighting the urge to cyber sing tomorrow really strongly, so I'll simply say i receive that,and embrace what's coming. And tomorrow is Friday, who wouldn't welcome that! Like the blog changes

Anonymous said...

OMG! I needed this word! This helps me to move forward. The past couple of days have not gone at all like I had planned and I struggled to be okay with it. I am so over it and it will surely not effect today or tomorrow. Planning the work is great but working the plan is to me being able to overcome whatever obstacle comes up. Be persistent! Never give up! Today believe that the best is yet to come no matter what!

Have a great day everyone-Holly T.

peacemaker said...

What a great way to start the day. There's nothing like POSITIVE words and affirmation from someone who you know, love, and trust.

Because I anticipate a great "tomorrow", I will live in the Now...now. Without Now, tomorrow is unreachable. Now is the only portal to tomorrow.
Can't wait to get there...Now.

Thanks for the words.

Peace Now
PM

Michelle said...

Good Morning to all,

Here are some words that I got from today's reading. Words I can live in the now with and bring into tomorrow.

Appreciation, Possibility, Quality, Responsibility, Experiences, Promotion, Work, Foundation, Silver Lining, Fulfillment, Confident, Joy, Mercies, Rise Up, Patiently, Persistenty, Progress, Producing, Prosperity, Discovery.

I like what you said last night about removing some things from our lives because there is more coming my way when I do. How can I be afraid when I have the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. I have the word of God to lean on. I also have all my brother and sister to lean on.

When I was reading todays blog, I was little over whelmed. I went back to read again and I started writing just some to the words and thinking of what they meant to me. Did I believe in the words. Some of the words I did like Appreciation, Possibility, Responsibility, Foundation, Fulifillment, Progress, Patiently Perisistenly and Discovery. Don't get me wrong I love all the word of today, their are some I am needing to work on. I can start today an apply them to my life. I can enrich my life more.

When I live in Now, I am preparing for my destiny. Thank you Bishop for the "Words" of the day.

God Bless us all today with all we need.

Michelle
PS: Someone asked about my picture. It was taken in SC on Edisto Island. Yes it is moss.

HollyC said...

Bishop you are so my pastor. Everything you said is exactly what I need for this day. Conformation is sweet.
I will hang on until I get my happy ending.

Anonymous said...

Love the green, it is one of my favorite spring colors. It holds such a newness to it like the way the trees look when they begin to come alive again after lying dormant for the winter.

(Today I will patiently pace myself as I persistently prepare for progress,
My adventures in the now will take me to the next level of discovery, as I watch for the dawn of a new day.)

The green is representing our New Day! I am ready to see what that new day will hold for me.

This is the day the Lord has made and I AM rejoicing and being glad in it.

peace and blessings,
pdt

G8TRGRL said...

Good morning, blog family! Me too! Me too! I so needed this to start my day.

I had a conversation late last night with a friend-- how do I encourage that the change in their mind and the way they think/speak will catch up to their heart? When it's a lifetime of the "programming" that was installed, and they are looking for a "hard re-boot" and are losing patience in the process? All I could do was to tell 'em to keep on, that He will come through and honor the change they're making... the quote from AYITN from Job... too perfect for that very thing!

Time to go face the day,"regardless of the unpleasant things that I may encounter along the way" (grass that needs cutting?bathrooms needing cleaning? clutter needing removal??), plan my work and work my plan!!

TTFN

dgm2007 said...

SO good. once again.. Man i luv this blog.. I have been so optimistic i think it may bug ppl. but i cant stop. ppl tell me something bad and i just find the upside. and with rising up.. so good when i wake up with no alarm just God I look out and see the beautiful view of nature and hear birds the sun shining so brightly.. its just so good to be ALIVE. WOW i am in such a good place and to hear that it doesn't have to end. God is Full of miracles how great is our God. man i cant stop humming songs and speaking life to ppl and myself. its so easy to change with the spirit.. one thought.. ive been doing that so much.. I just think or say you know i dont want to put that person down or I dont want to be unappreciative.. its so easy.. Many are the blessings.. i dont think thats a scripture but hey. speak it and it will be.. im a big believer in making up words b/c if you dont who will?

Anonymous said...

To acknowledge tomorrow in the now by welcoming it before it arrives is similar to saying the future is now. That phrase has helped me in the yesterday to overcome the anxioty associated with things that never came to exist.

anon pdt is right, today is the day... when we rejoice it is celebration of the past and a welcome of tomorrow as a thought of gratitude for the life we have.

PM said "now is the only portal to tomorrow." You are right, there can be no tomorrow without a now.

As strange as tomorrow may seem, it is welcome to come into my now.

peace made with past plus making peace with tomorrow equals peace now.

jb

DoubleBack Alley said...

Sahib,

I wonder whence the emanation of the impetus? Do we conjure it? Does it bubble it from the primordial ooze of our subconscious? When we mull over the ruminations, are they thought seeds scattered about by the witnesses in the great cloud? Do we seed the clouds so that they rain into our thoughts?

Why a certain topic for a certain day? What is different about yesterday that made you wonder about the Holy Spirit, yet twenty four hours later, positive professions pour forth. Circumstances? Events? Paternal Grandfathers? I wonder why.

What does tomorrow hold? Are we supposed to know that? If we can remember the past, are we supposed to remember the future? Remember when the answer to our issues happened three years from now? Wouldn't that be great? The greater good would come from knowing the future and not screwing up the present. That may be why it doesn't happen. Anyway, affirmations always welcome here.

Open for business and remembering our future successes.

Ain't God Good?

Anonymous said...

“Today I will patiently pace myself as I persistently prepare for progress, thereby producing a prognosis for prosperity. Father, help me to prophetically prepare myself for tomorrow today. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

I pray this prayer in perfect agreement for perpetual fulfillment of these priceless promises. In Jesus name, I amen this so be it, and it is so!

I’m not trying to be cute with something as serious as this good word today. I really do come into agreement with these words and this is just what came to my mind as I started to respond. That’s just the way I think sometimes. Scary isn’t it!

I like the changing colors even as we all are in a process of change. Green is for spring, life, GO!, money, open avenues, new beginnings. Yep I like green.

Peace,
Dennis

Friend4Life said...

Wanted to say hi to every-1!! Like the new green pastures.(smile) Thanks Bishop for signing my AYITN book. (Was @ the Lion King play with KITN drama team) Which by the way was so AWESOME!!

Breathe on me..on playlist when I came on!!
Yesterday, gone today I am in need.

Even last night's word..telling me to Welcome Tomorrow!! So, let me clean up some files. Tap in some files I might haven't checked into in awhile. Do a virus scan..and get rid of the corrupted files!!

By the way..LOVE the picture of the buildings with the Dove. Im saving that 1.

c-ya when I c-ya,
L.W.

Anonymous said...

With My Own Two Hands was playing when I logged on. Oh ya it's up to us to change things with our own two hands. Whatever tomorrow brings is up Him right now. It's in His own two hands. Tomorrow it will be in our own two hands.
Live in the now, the future is ours to see,& have a blessed day

Anonymous said...

If I were to write a book the content would be modern day fiction with the hope that one day soon there would be more fact than fiction in its context.

The prime concept would be peace on earth and good will toward all humanity. It has been said that as long as there are two or more humans on earth there can not be peace. Someone like me would not be able to agree, so the one who made that statement has also made their point but, their argument is not as strong as mine if there is a way for me to consistently prove that we can disagree and still live in peace. It seems they would eventually have to kill me or be found at fault. However that act would precipitate social change that would move others more in the direction of peaceful coexistence and shun the action of my murder as unacceptable. Therefore I would win the argument but what is the point if I can not enjoy the peace and good will.

Based on all that has occurred since the declaration was made at Christ birth of ‘peace on earth and goodwill toward man’ there has been little sign of it, although society does seem to be moving at an exponential rate toward that promise since the turn of the second millennium from the point of its origin.

With the present advent of intelligent machines there is the possibility that by applying simple coding in the machine to accomplish peace on earth and good will toward all humanity, there will soon come a day that not only will there be a peace and good will concept that prevails but the machines will also be able to collect data, artifact and DNA sufficient to reconstruct or resurrect humans throughout all time who have both pursued and persecuted peace.

This may not seem logical to some who overlook the obvious because the world we live in would be overpopulated beyond its capacity and by resurrecting all who ever existed we would bring undesirable people back to influence the decline of peace again. To eliminate overpopulation and purify humanity by racial cleansing are among the strongest points of an argument that can be made in favor of genocide by war or any other action. The obvious however is that the intelligent machines have overcome the present constraints to space travel and are well on the way to overcoming travel between dimensions before the resurrection project begins. They have also given solutions to the thoughts of those who are troubled by their difference with others, including you and me, before placing them back into physical existence.

Imagine being able to converse with Gandhi or Benjamin Franklin or the historical man Jesus who, although divine would have left DNA to replicate himself. Can this even be done? Would they be the same person? If so, what would it reveal? I wonder if King Hammurabi who was intelligent and wise beyond all men of his time was the same king of peace (King of Salem) that spoke with Abraham as Melchizedek and was that man also the Christ as many bible scholars have speculated.

Are you willing to welcome this tomorrow? I am and so is my God who is.

jb

famman87 said...

DBA,

I think that we are supposed to use memories from the past(experience) to make decisions(good v. evil, right v.wrong, life v. death) NOW to CREATE our future...


"you're always free to choose a different future, or a different past..." R. Bach

B back l8r...

Much Love...

Anonymous said...

Hello Buddy (Holy Spirit):
Thank you again for being reliable, trustworthy, and loving. . .you are welcome in this place and in my space.

Bishop:
Love, Love, Love the visuals! What you convey through them is priceless.
My testimony today is:
It's a good day. God is in charge. I am oozing with joy. Everything is not perfect according to my understanding, but
I am happy. I am not going back - I am moving ahead, and I will not comprise my joy...but I will share it! Yes, today I am blogging out JOY JOY JOY JOY JOY JOY JOY JOY JOY

Take as much as you want or need.

DoubleBack Alley said...

Famman,

If we create our future based on past circumstance and our ultimate future is established, then could anything be evil or wrong, if it led to peace? Conversely, if we based a decision on something good and it turned out to disappoint, was the previous experience good?

I say that because I believe that the universe lines up with our intentions and our ability to tune into what has been designed for our lives. Being true to the core self is the utmost responsibility that we have. Viewed in that context, we stop seeing God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or even Satan as external beings. Rather, they become internal outworkings of the destiny that we (the cloud) manifest for ourselves. It no longer becomes, "visit me God, or bless me Holy Spirit". We allow God to rise in our being so that the Godness of us establishes our focus. In that state, there is no good, evil, light, dark, right, wrong, bad karma, good karma, good decision, or bad decision.

Not sure how one walks in this, but it is in existence for me. Maybe doesn't apply to anyone else.

It's all Good and Bad

Ain't God Good (and Bad?)?

Pamela said...

The movement of the Holy Spirit is upon us, and I was so energized from Body Builders and Last night service, that I couldn't go to sleep til almost 2am and was up and energized and up at 6:30. Holy Spirit is the ultimate energy drink, it refreshes, it replenishes and it guides and strengthens when the flesh is weak and worn out. We have the choice to live in the reality of the flesh or the Spirit, Adam or Christ. Holy Spirit rain down on us, fill us, guide us, transform our eyes to see others as God sees us. Pentecost Sunday is upon us and it will fill us to where it cannot be contained, it and it will overflow into all our works, and others will see the Christ at work in us and want to come and get their fill. They will want what we know to be free and in the flow. I Love You Guys, Pamela CITN ROCKS

sissiedo said...

I love the green! It makes me smile.

famman87 said...

DBA,

Very interesting point, and I'm not sure I grasp exactly what you are saying, yet.

I agree that our ultimate future was established at the begining, and that He as destined a place and purpose for each of us. However, I beleive that how we get there is strictly up to us.

As Bish has said numerous times, we can leave Conyers to go to Atlanta, but there are any number of ways we can get there, the easiest being to get right on I-20 and head west for 25 miles, the longest way is to head east, buy plane tickets , traverse Europe and Asia, buy more plane tickets, and travel east fromm the west coast until we make it at the ATL.

I believe that our past decicisions influence the choices we make today because of the knowledge that we have gained from them. Learn and let it go. As children we learn not to touch a hot stove after having actually done it once, in most cases.

I try to teach my children to understand that every choice they make has a consequnce, good or bad, and that they need to listen INSIDE for what the Spirit is saying to them about their choice, because He/She is going to guide them in the right way to move(from the inside as you said), but that the choice is really ours, and we have to know that we must live with the consequences of our choices.Good or bad.If I choose not to pay my electric bill, I know that Snapping Shoals will come and cut my power.(Bad choice, bad consequence) In that respect, we do choose to create our own future and path to our pre- designed destiny.

Knowing the future so as to not screw up the present would be the cool, but where's the spirit of fun and adventure in that? And why would we need each other?

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop?

The world may never know.

Much Love my brother. Love how you make me think...

famman87 said...

Bishop

Love the green. New, spring-y,eye-opening, fresh.

The neon also kind of brings back the 80's for me... all it needs now is some zebra stripes.

DoubleBack Alley said...

Famman,

Thanks for the sharpening.

Ain't God Good?

tracy said...

Loved todays post, read it in the devotional this am before I even logged on...very timely. DBA- I totally get what you are saying-it all just "is".

Unknown said...

Life in living color!

No matter the topography, walking by the Spirit gives me eyes to see God everywhere.
Love y'all!

Reign! said...

Father, help me to prophetically prepare myself for tomorrow today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

WOW Bishop! On New Year's Eve you prophetically prophesized yourself into the NOW!

Hmmmm!.....Just thinkin'.....Hmmmm!

Kettly said...

Today I will not be afraid to be radically optimistic, even if I come across to others as unrealistically idealistic! I will not quit until I find the cloud’s silver lining; I will not leave the theatre until my movie has a happy ending. God’s picture of Kingdom fulfillment for my life is being painted on the canvas of my heart by the word and the Holy Spirit and He will finish what He started!

Tonight I will rest well, confident that tomorrow will be a brighter day than today. Joy will come in the morning when and where His mercies are always new for me. I will not just get up tomorrow morning- I will up!

Today I will patiently pace myself as I persistently prepare for progress, thereby producing a prognosis for prosperity! My adventures in the now will take me to the next level of discovery, as I watch for the dawn of a new day. Today I will believe that the best is yet to come, and today I will live in the now!

The only thing I can say is: Tomorrow, Tomorrow I love you.
But I also love my today, because of my today I will not be afraid to face my tomorrow; and because of my tomorrow, I will wait patiently for my future. For I know the best is yet to come. But in the meantime I live in the now.

Good Morning to You All
Kettly

Kettly said...

Bishop,

I forget to tell you, I love the GREEN! In my culture GREEN stand for "experience" which mean "hope".

love it; love it; love it!

kettly

dgm2007 said...

hey.. so if u guys look at the pic with buildings with the cool perspective.. the buildings outline the clouds and it looks like a dove... the lamppost being the eye.. check it out

DoubleBack Alley said...

Sahib,

Luke 12 is ever-present on my mind since you discussed the "they hate me, they hate you" message. Jesus seems to have an axe to grind with his supporters, the Pharisees, hypocrites, the ravens, and even the lilies. One would assume he woke up on the wrong side of the mat.

If peace was the ultimate, why would he preach division? Three on two, father against son, mother against daughter, mother-in-law against…well, I get that one, she was probably a Democrat. The whole “versus” diatribe seems disjointed when viewed through the paradigm of a loving Savior.

I wonder if his job was to deliver the hard message, let it settle in and then let the Holy Spirit massage the egos of the powerful so as to inure them to the inevitable conclusion that God is and they aren’t. Nothing happens in this world without those who wield influence utilizing the rudder of public opinion. Even grass-roots campaigns have had powerful voices (Abbie Hoffman, Eldridge Cleaver, Bernadette Devlin, Lech Walesa, et al.). Sadly, these clarion calls seldom see the vision through to completion because they lack the vision to change course when it becomes more mainstream.

I believe you have a voice in a unilateral attempt to change this world’s paradigm as it stares at its own reflection; creased with worry, cracking with environmental peril, and crumbling through the wait of devolving human relationships. The challenge is negotiating the pitfalls that are current and then building on the success that is eventually achieved. It is an extraordinary task for exceptional persons of valor. I believe you are able and equipped with others in the Peace Forum.

GodSpeed Good Sahib

Ain’t God Good?

DoubleBack Alley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bishop Jim Swilley said...

DGM, I didn't know if anyone else had seen that...the "dove" is what caught my eye...

Unknown said...

oops. I assumed the dove was so obvious...

it and the last dove pic, along with the now removed bold green were what led me to my post--which were all about what the message of the pictorial fugue was to me.

Too cryptic again, I was.

Gotta work some more on remembering "perfect unification" isn't that y'all are all up in my head as much as it seems to me that you are!