I read an interesting book about a Viet Nam vet and his experiences on the battle field.  He had kept a diary and from letters sent home, he compiled an auto biography. It held my attention until the horrible last paragraph. After coming home and falling victim to alcohol and the demons of his experience, he said goodbye to his family and committed suicide. His cousin put the material together including the last paragraph.

In the Marine Corp, it seems he came across a believer. Did that Christian tell him enough?

Psalm 66:16 

Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.

2 Timothy 1:8 

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

Matthew 10:32 

So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven,

Give it some thought. I did.

Gary

Chimes of Time #2

There is no night, for in His light
You never walk alone
Always feel at home
Wherever you may go

There is no power can conquer you
While God is on your side
Take Him at His promise
Don’t run away and hide

Adam and Eve sinned and ran from God. Don’t make the same mistake. The Lord found them in their sin and redeemed them. Has he done that for you or are you still running?

Matthew 6:33

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Jeremiah 29:13

You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart.

Luke 19:10

 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Don’t run if you heard His voice.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Stuart Hamblen wrote it in 1956.

The chimes of time ring out the news
Another day is through
Someone slipped and fell
Was that someone you?

You may have longed for added strength
Your courage to renew
Do not be disheartened
For I have news for you

It is no secret what God can do
What He’s done for others, He’ll do for you
With arms wide open, He’ll pardon you
It is no secret what God can do

Philippians 4:19 

And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 6:33 

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

In giving this some thought, consider others who fell in Scripture and were set aright when they called on God and you move on as well.

Gary

It was the summer of ’68. We were mostly a group of underage teens drinking and partying. My brother and another soldier were spending the weekend away from the Naval hospital where they’d been recovering from their wounds. As the night turned darker, I lit a pack of firecrackers and threw it into the crowd and multiple explosions filled the air.  That soldier fell to the ground and started crying and yelling, “Incoming.”  My brother calmly looked at me, took a drag off his cigarette and said, “He’s crazy and don’t you ever do that again.” I don’t know what my brother was on, but it was working.

Not knowing what others are suffering from, we need to be careful and considerate. They didn’t hold that stupidity against me, but I have regretted that act ever since that summer.

Philippians 2:4

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Titus 3:2

To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Give it some thought. You don’t know what others are going through.

Gary

… In the world’s mighty gallery of pictures
Hang the scenes that are painted from life
There’re pictures of love and of passion
And there’re pictures of peace and of strife

… There hang pictures of youth and of beauty
Of old age and a blushing young bride
They all hang on the wall, but the saddest of all
Are the pictures from life’s other side

In 1895 a song was written about life’s other side. Hank Williams made it a hit in 1951. It was a song about the tragedies of life here on terra firma. The Bible is also full of the tragedies about living here, found in both the Old and New Testament. If you are not familiar with life’s disappointments, there are many around you who are. Here’s the solution for such experiences.

Psalm 34:18 

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Someone once said, “if you want to see how much space you take up in life, put your hand in a bucket of water and then remove it.” The fact that the hole quickly disappears will tell you a story. There is a poem by the title “When Tomorrow Starts Without Me” that I also find telling. Give the following verses some thought.

James 4:14 

Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Psalm 39:4 

“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!

Life will go on, so what are you doing here? Give it some serious thought.

Gary

Tadpoles are transformed into frogs. Now, how did evolution accomplish that tremendous feat? No, God designed that for my devotional today. That tadpole doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life in that dirty puddle. He wants to hop out of that mess and enjoy a brand-new experience designed by God. This new paradigm will introduce him to an unbelievable world in which he will live out his days with purpose.

Do you know God has designed us for a new life?

2 Corinthians 5:17 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

1 Peter 1:23 

Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

Jump out of that dirty environment and get a better life. Give it some thought.

Gary