From my friend AI

The main rotor head of a Bell Jet Ranger is only held together by two “pillow blocks” which are attached by two small ¼” bolts on each side!  In other words, the weight of the helicopter, all its occupants, the cargo, plus fuel, etc. – that WHOLE mass is held together by those ¼ inch bolts.  Those “babies” had a fault of stretching due to a bad batch in the industry.  I was the first to discover and immediately notified Bell Helicopter headquarters …”eternal vigilance” is a vital part of the aviation pilot/ technician. 

So are these “last days” of our spiritual walk with the Lord…so many things can creep in to cloud the message!  We can even allow these issues to cloud our judgment.  We so need “spot on” words of wisdom.

1 Peter 5:8

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Proverbs 4:23

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Matthew 26:41
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Be careful out there because one loose nut might send you flying off into a tailspin. Give it some thought.

Gary

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” — Oscar Wilde

I don’t know about you, but I’ve tried to be someone else many times in my life. It never proved to be of any benefit.  I wanted to be the older boy with a nice flat top and gamble like James Garner. My hair wouldn’t cooperate and I lost many a quarter at the poker table.

Does the Bible address Oscar’s statement? Glad you asked.

Psalm 139:14

 “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful; I know that full well.”

Jeremiah 1:5

 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”

Psalm 139:13

 “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

Don’t look foolish and be a loser. Discover why God made you and what He can do with you. Give it some consideration.

Gary

An American F-15E weapons systems officer using the call sign “Bravo” detailed his harrowing 50-hour survival and rescue after being shot down over Iran in an exclusive interview on the season premiere of “60 Minutes”.

Norah O’Donnell kept asking him if he had hope, if he thought the military would rescue him, or if he thought of capture by the enemy. Every time, the answer was that those things were not in his mind. His training was, “What’s the next step or what is the goal from this spot and set of circumstances?”

“He attributed his survival to his relationship with God. He also credited his great training, the years of consistent military research, and the sacrifices of those willing to give everything for their fellow man. “He didn’t claim to be a one-man band.

The Apostle Paul had the same attitude. Many times he expressed a thankful attitude for the contribution of others.

Philippians 1:3

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,  always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 

I also do that for the many of you that supply the air beneath my wings.

Give your attitude some consideration.

Gary

“Nowhere Man” is a 1965 song by The Beatles written by John Lennon. It portrays a man with existential dread, aimlessness, and no sense of direction or worldview. At the time many believed it to be a wonderful song. As we got older, the realization of our misconception of the true meaning set in.

Poor John should have known what the smartest man in the world had to say about the subject 3,000 years ago. John’s words were nothing new.   Same old, same old.

Ecclesiastes. 1:2

““Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”” (or “Vanity of vanities… all is vanity”

Ecclesiastes 1:14

“I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

Ecclesiastes 2:11

“Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”

Yah, nowhere man, if you leave God out, you will get nowhere. Give it some thought.

Gary

Huckleberry Finn’s most famous and defining moral quote from Mark Twain’s novel is, “All right, then, I’ll go to hell.” He was letting Jim know that he would take for him even if it meant going to hell.

Tremendous statement by anyone, but could the Apostle Paul make a similar statement? Glad you asked.

Romans 9:3

For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

Paul loves his people so much that he is willing to be separated from God if it means they can be saved instead.

Was it hyperbole? What would you give for your people?  Give it some thought.

Gary

This is how I do the devotionals which are sent out daily. I start a document with a word, verse or thought, or something I stole from some unnamed person. Then I put them into a folder for a later time. Prayer is applied, my brain must work (which is difficult) and the thing is lined up with Scripture. I pray again then send it out to you. Is it working?

2 Timothy 4:2

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

Jeremiah 1:9

Then the Lord put out His hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

There it is in a nutshell (that’s a nut inside a shell). Give it some consideration.

Gary

Even if you never saw the movie A Few Good Men, you’re probably familiar with this scene.

Tom Cruise plays a military lawyer and is interrogating tough-guy Jack Nicholson.

Cruise is getting nowhere and finally yells, “I WANT THE TRUTH!”

And Jack Nicholson shouts back, “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”

Truth is difficult stuff. Sometimes it’s hard to handle.

“The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear.” [Herbert Agar Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 2.]

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 8:32

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 16:13

When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.

How are you doing with the truths presented in those verses?  Give it some consideration.

Gary