I was twelve and he was eighteen. I watched the cable crane loading his truck as he straightened out any pulpwood that needed it. His truck was always clean and neat which was not always the case with logging trucks. My dad was the foreman at that lumber camp and I was there every opportunity I had. After some years, I too was a truck driver and we became friends for the next five decades. He died a few months ago and I’m going to miss him.

I really feel good about the conversations we had about God, salvation and the future of this world. Charles Stanley was his favorite preacher and you can’t go wrong with his teaching.

Thank God for divine opportunities.

Acts 16:31 (Amplified Bible)
And they answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus [as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him] and you will be saved, you and your household [if they also believe].”

Give it some thought.

Gary

A good analogy for evolution is taking all the parts for a 747, dumping them on the tarmac over and over again, and believing that they will eventually fall in order and become an aircraft. DNA is actually more complex than a 747, and it demonstrates the impossibility of that happening.

People believe in evolution because they deny the Creator. If there is no Creator, then there is no accountability. However, there is obviously a great designer who put all creation together.

Romans 1:20 

For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Colossians 1:16-17 

For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

You were uniquely formed as seen by your fingerprints, the location of your facial features one from another, and obviously your DNA. Shouldn’t you acknowledge that? He’s gone even further in giving His life for you.

Think about it.

Gary

The little boy was seen following his father and trying to imitate smoking, using a clothespin which hung out of his mouth. What that led to…Dad quit that addictive habit. If we hold an exalted position in life, others will imitate.

We start imitating others at a very young age and that continues into adulthood. Hopefully, others will provide something good to imitate. Notably, the bar for us, as believers, is very high.

Ephesians 5:1 

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

1 Corinthians 11:1 

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

If you are a believer, God has given you a challenge. Start today. You might make a difference in someone’s future.

Give it some thought.

Gary

“Into each life some rain must fall.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote that statement in his poem, “Some Days are Dark and Dreary.”

Yes, Henry, we know life has both good and bad. However, did you know the Bible addressed that long before you penned that poem?

Matthew 5:45

that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

1 Kings 8:35

“When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge Your name and turn from their sin, when You afflict them,

In the life of a believer, God provides not just the things we like, but also the things we don’t like.  Unlike the teaching of prosperity preachers, God has a divine purpose for both in the lives of those who trust Him.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Isaiah 22:23

And I will fasten Him as a nail in a sure place; and He shall be for a glorious throne to His father’s house.

In a day when political and religious leaders were not to be trusted, the prophet speaks of One coming to rule that can be trusted. We also live in such a day, and the encouraging thing is that we have the promise of His redemption drawing near. Someday, we’ll be out of this mess and find ourselves enjoying the home our Savior has prepared for us.

Psalm 9:10 

And those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. 

We are secure in Him.

Give it some thought.

Gary

In 1969 Joe South sang, “Don’t It Make You Want to Go Home.”  It was about an individual who returned to his hometown only to find it no longer existed. It reminds me of my trips to where I grew up. Tears fill my eyes as I realize it only exists in my memory and imagination. Joe belts out, “Oh God, I want to go home.”

I’m glad there is a home in my future that will never be destroyed by time.

Philippians 3:20 

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

John 14:2 

In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

Give it some consideration.

Gary

I watched my great grandson flailing his arms, kicking and crying with his face red, thus revealing an Irish temper. He doesn’t like it in this world, and he wants all around to know it. Oh, he’ll climb out of that mood, but there will be many more mountains he must climb before he reaches great grandpa’s age. That’s pretty much the story of life.

John 16:33 

I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Psalm 34:17-18 

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

I pray that this grandson will, at an early age, seek the only One who makes sense of life on terra firma.

Give it some thought and we won’t speak of the luck of the Irish.

Gary