Paula and I were standing in front of my cousin’s casket when she said, “He looks like you.”

 I peered in for a better look and came to the same conclusion. We both looked like we were dead. Now I had trouble digesting the fact that we held the same opinion on the matter. However, it was not the first time I looked dead.

Ephesians 2:1

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

Ephesians 2:5

even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Ephesians 5:14

Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”

You that have peered into this devotional, are you dead?

Give it some thought.

Gary

That kid in grammar school who was laughed at still haunts my memory, though it happened years ago. I really wasn’t one to make fun of others, but on the other hand, I didn’t step in to help that poor individual. Now I understand that makes me just as guilty. The underprivileged could use our help to get through their unfortunate situation in life. We shouldn’t turn away if God has gifted us to make a difference. We should not worry about our standing in the eyes of those bent on hurting others.

Galatians 6:2 

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Luke 6:38 

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Give it some thought.

Gary

On my way to the furnace room, I pass a sports equipment rack. There’s my favorite softball bat and that Wilson basketball. I won’t be swinging that bat or dribbling that ball again real soon.

Maybe if I moved to Florida to some rest home, there would be teams there consisting of those over seventy years old playing those sports. However, I really don’t want to live where such teams are located. This is just the musings of a man who has watched too many sunsets.

Proverbs 20:29 

The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

Isaiah 46:4 

Even to your old age I am He, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

No, I can’t be playing sports. However, I still have a role to play and I’d like to be good at it. How about you?

Give it some thought.

Gary

Memories – some are so good you never want to get far away from them. Then, some are so bad you wish you could take a pill to dissolve them.   My childhood memories are so precious to me that I go back to the old home town just to water them once in a while. The Bible has a lot to say about the memories of a believer. Here are a few verses in that regard:

John 14:26 

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Proverbs 10:7 

The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

How about your memories? Maybe it’s about time to get out the photo album, stored in the old grey matter, and take a look at a few.

Give it some thought.

Gary

 “There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of one candle.”

This inscription was found on a small, new grave stone after a devastating air raid on Britain in World War II. Some thought it must be a famous quotation, but it wasn’t. The words were written by a lonely old woman whose pet had been killed by a Nazi bomb.

I’d like to think someone reached out in an act of kindness at that time.  As long as there is light, and it doesn’t matter how small, there is hope. Remember God has chosen you to be that light in your home, neighborhood, family and workplace.

Matthew 5:14

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Matthew 5:16

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Give it some thought and then go light your world.

Gary

One of our presidents from the past made this statement, “I feel your pain.” Now he never had to go to work every day with a lunch pail in his hand; he never had to stand at the grave of a child of his; he didn’t have to worry about the rent or a medical bill; he didn’t know what it was like to get a cancer diagnoses; retirement security was not something that kept him up at night; he had never gone through a divorce; he never knew of the consequences of smoking marijuana because he never inhaled. No, he didn’t feel our pain.

There was a man who felt our pain and His name is Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 2:10

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what He suffered.

He not only relates to our pain, but He will carry us in it.  Do you know Him?

Give it some thought.

Gary

The greatest man in history had no servant, yet they called him Master; He had no degree, yet they called him Teacher; had no medicines, yet they called him Healer; He had no armies, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today. His name is Jesus Christ.

-Author unknown

John 1:14 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Acts 4:12 

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Give it some serious thought.

Gary