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

I tried to marry my ex-wife, but she figured out I was only after my money.

-Author unknown

Solomon came to basically the same conclusion. He was frustrated because everything he undertook made him feel empty inside. Then he began to realize everything he accomplished in life could very well be left to an idiot. He called it vanity and grasping after the wind. The book of Ecclesiastes is full of that type of thing.

Ecclesiastes 1:2

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

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. 

Poor old Solomon was spiritually bankrupt because he tried to run the course of his life with only his own intellect at the controls.

How about you? Whom are you putting in charge of the program? Give it some careful consideration. Don’t live life like the smartest man in the world did.

Gary

“More often than not, those who constantly throw in the towel will be left standing next to a huge pile of laundry.”

― Christine E. Szymanski

Why do people seem to have a propensity to quit too soon? I don’t know because I’m not a psychiatrist, but I do know the Bible addresses the phenomenon.

Galatians 6:9 

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Hebrews 12:1 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Give it some thought and hang in there.

Gary

Do you know anyone who is not carrying some regrets or guilt that he or she just can’t shake? No, you don’t have to get very close to anyone to discover that that person has these mental demons just like you. Philosopher Henry David Thoreau addressed those phenomena. “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation,” he wrote in his book Walden in 1854.

Be kind to people because they, like you, have a burden on their backs. If you can’t make it a little lighter, then just don’t add to the load.

Psalm 55:22 

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.

Galatians 6:2 

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

Give it some thought.

Gary