In Numbers 22 we find a prophet trying to reason with his donkey. The donkey is talking back to him and attempting to have his master, Balaam, see reason. It would make a good sitcom, “Who’s smarter than a jackass?” Does the Bible contain humor? It sure does. If you find yourself listening to a jackass, maybe it’s time to mend your ways.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Don’t be “mythified.” Give it some thought.

Gary

A girl at Starbucks complimented a woman on her lip gloss. The woman said, “I didn’t have the heart to tell her that it was grease from the rotisserie chicken I just ate in the parking lot.”

Making a judgment without a history of the facts can lead to being badly mistaken.

James 3:2 

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

Matthew 5:48 

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Don’t make judgments without the correct information. Give it some thought.

Gary

No man really knows about other human beings. The best he can do is to suppose that they are like himself.

-John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck, American novelist, is best known for The Grapes of Wrath which summed up the bitterness of the Great Depression and aroused widespread sympathy for the plight of migratory farmworkers.

John’s quote brought me to what the Scriptures have to say about our nature.

1 John 1:8

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Romans 7:18

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Anyone analyzing himself should realize he needs a Savior. Guess what, God has provided One.

Give it some thought.

Gary

My goldfish are named “one” and “two.” If one dies, I still have two. Probably not a good name for a goldfish, but it’s a way to keep two.

Listening to some Bible teachers is like reading the previous paragraph. It hurts your head. There is a need for us as human beings to understand each other. The Corinthians had a problem with this kind of confusion, and it was addressed in first Corinthians chapter fourteen verse nine.

1 Corinthians 14:9

 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.

Make sure the Bible teacher speaks in a language understood by you. Give it some thought.

Gary

Sing it like you mean it, for this song puts forth the basics of salvation and the commitment expressed from an appreciative heart.

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true
Its shame and reproach gladly bear
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away
Where His glory forever I’ll share

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Give it some careful consideration.

Gary

The kindergarten teacher put that test on my desk. We were directed to circle the one which didn’t belong when there were three basketballs and a bicycle. It took me seven decades to figure what the point was to that exercise when it appeared to me to just be harassment of a five-year-old. Life is full of things which don’t belong and they must be recognized if you are to go on to the next level.

Christians are given similar tests. The following things don’t belong in the life of a Christian.

Ephesians 4:31

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

Colossians 3:8

But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

Take a close look at your life and circle what doesn’t belong.

Give it some thought.

Gary

“Yesterday” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles.  It was written primarily by Paul McCartney in 1965. Even in this present time, many continue listening to that song because they would like to go back to that time. The problem is time erases so many things. You can’t go back and you can’t fast forward because you are tied to the present. You can only work with the present.

Ephesians 5:16 

Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Colossians 4:5 

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

You are given just so much time now, so use it wisely. I’m sorry to say that seventy-five-year-old Beatles’ fans are outdated and sometimes quite pathetic. Get with the present.

Give it some thought.

Gary