We were kids and he claimed he could dive in very shallow water. He even built a diving board to make it more interesting. The dive was unsuccessful. I can still see him speeding along just under the surface when his head came into contact with that rock. My laughter was uncontrollable and his disappointment in my reaction was heartfelt as the tears came streaming down his face.

If humanly possible, we should always show sympathy for the calamity of others. Our Lord looked on our self-afflicted state and hurt with us.

Matthew 5:4 

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Romans 12:15 

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

I couldn’t help myself back then, but you should give it some thought.

Gary

Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice and is never the result of selfishness.

–       Napoleon Hill

Hebrews 13:15 

Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.

Matthew 20:28 

Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

In the few days we have left to walk the planet, it might be wise to consider these verses.

Gary

This sign was spotted on a church lawn: “Too hot to keep changing sign. Sin bad. Jesus good. Details inside at 10 AM. “

The gospel is not complicated and our condition is not without a cure.

Titus 3:5 

He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

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.

If you are confused by this, it is a sign that you need to heed the sign.

Give it some thought.

Gary

The ER nurse is the first person you see after saying, “Here, hold my beer and watch this.” Now things should be thought through and never allow drugs to cloud the mind.

1 Corinthians 2:14

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Proverbs 29:11

A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

Proverbs 18:2

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Stay away from drinks that fog the mind and lead to tragedy for you and the people who love you.

Give it some thought.

Gary

2 Samuel 11:13

Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

David is going to have this man killed before long. He has slept with his wife and now she is pregnant with David’s child. David has plans for him and they are evil. Adultery, lying and murder mark this chapter in David’s life.

God recorded all of David’s evil actions, from the time these thoughts entered David’s head until the diabolical fruit was fully developed and Uriah the Hittite was dead. Life for David would never be the same because of this. Trouble would plague his home.

Do you as a Christian have any sinful plans? I would change them if I were you because He chastens whom He loves and He loves the believer.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Genesis 3:1

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

Now Eve thought the serpent was a friend, but it was the enemy of God and of the entire human race. Knowing friend from foe is a challenge for all of us. However, someone contradicting the Word of God or slandering His saints is definitely a foe. Don’t go for those “feel-good” voices whose purpose is to destroy your faith or the work God is doing.

2 Corinthians 11:3

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Give it some thought and weigh words that come from others on God’s scales.

Gary

“Charlie Brown“ is a popular Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller song that was a top-ten hit for the Coasters in the spring of 1959. Charlie was constantly saying, “Why is everybody always picking on me?” However, if he had examined his actions in life, he would have had the answer.

The nation of Israel has the same question about the last three thousand years of troubles. If they were to turn to 2 Chronicles 7:21-22, they might find the answer.

And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore, he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

The Scriptures have the answers to life’s most perplexing problems, but most don’t read it. Then, the majority of those who do believe it to be speaking of someone other than themselves. Thus, the answer to their problems are blowing in the wind.

Give it some thought.

Gary