Maria Fedorovna, the empress of Russia and wife of Czar Alexander III, was known for her philanthropy. She once saved a prisoner from exile in Siberia by transposing a single comma in a warrant signed by Alexander. The czar had written: “Pardon impossible, to be sent to Siberia.” After Maria’s intervention, the note read: “Pardon, impossible to be sent to Siberia.” The prisoner was eventually released.

Little things can make a big difference when placed in the correct spot. Does God consider that? Glad you asked.

Matthew 5:18

 For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Jots and tittles have to do with letters and pen strokes in Hebrew writing. They are small but necessary.

You might be a jot or a tittle, but you could make all the difference in the world in which you live.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Life is a continuous process of getting used to things we hadn’t expected. It’s a good thing that a baby has no memory of coming into the world. How could that child describe it? The light at the end of the tunnel, those creatures, the cold, and that slap for reasons unknown. No doubt if he could say something, it would be, “Take me back where I came from. Then again, where did I come from.”

I’m seventy-one and I tell you I’m still experiencing the unexpected and it still shocks me. What does the Bible have to say of this phenomenon? Glad you asked.

James 4:13-14

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.

Because of this certainty, please don’t journey into tomorrow alone, without the One who framed you.

Give it some thought.

Gary

The voices of those teachers in my grammar school years still ring in my ears. “Gary, follow the instructions.  Gary, why didn’t you follow the instructions?” They didn’t realize I had a bad case of attention deficit disorder. It wasn’t quite bad enough to get social security benefits, but still it plagued me.

Now I pastor a church and have to swallow my medication because the Lord says the same thing as my educators used to say. Nothing has changed.

2 Tim 3:16-17

 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Snap out of it. Pay attention and give it some thought.

Gary

NASA held a briefing to reveal the rocks returned by the OSIRIS-REx asteroid mission. The asteroid material was delivered to Earth in late September in a space capsule that landed in Utah. The hope was that scientists could discover where life came from. After spending billions of dollars, they are no closer to the answers.

I am so glad that we have the record of the beginning of life and the conclusion of life on this planet.

Genesis 1:1-2 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Colossians 1:16 

For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him.

If you are looking to the rocks for the answers to life, check to see if you have a heart of stone. His great love for us should move us.

Give it some thought.

Gary

A store manager hears his clerk tell a customer, “No, ma’am, we haven’t had any for a while, and it doesn’t look as if we’ll be getting any soon.”

Horrified, the manager came running over to the customer and said, “Of course, we’ll have some soon. We placed an order last week.” Then the manager drew the clerk aside. “Never,” he snarled, “never, never, never say we’re out of anything–say we’ve got it on order and it’s coming. Now, what was it she wanted?”

“Rain,” said the clerk.

                                              (Source: James Dent, in Charleston, W.V. Gazette.)

Proverbs 12:22 

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are His delight.

Psalm 101:7 

No one who practices deceit shall dwell in My house; no one who utters lies shall continue before My eyes.

Proverbs 12:19 

Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

Tell the truth even when it hurts. Give it some thought.

Gary

A young woman said to her pastor, “I have become aware of a sin in my life which I cannot control. Every time I am at church I begin to look around at the other women, and I realize that I am the prettiest one in the whole congregation. None of the others can compare with my beauty. What can I do about this sin?”

 The pastor replied, “Martha, that’s not a sin, why that’s just a mistake!”

                                                                                 (Source: Family Times)

Being haughty is a sin that appears in the Scripture and in all places where human beings congregate.

Numbers 16:3

And they assembled against Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, seeing that the whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the community of the Lord?” 

Proverbs 6:16-17

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him:    haughty eyes…,

Give it some thought the next time you believe yourself to be the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Gary

He knew it was coming, so he made a plan concerning his tombstone. It read, “Death is just one more thing to cross off my to-do list.”

One of my friends said, “Gary, I want you to have my funeral.”

 I replied, “You do your part and I’ll do mine.”

This is a sure thing so plan ahead.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 

And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Hebrews 9:27 

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

Psalm 146:4 

When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

Are you ready? Give it some serious thought.

Gary