I was in the last years of the draft lottery and my number was 283. All 366 possible birth dates were placed in plastic capsules in a rotating drum and were selected one by one. No one born on June 11, 1952, was drafted. Having three brothers and a sister who have served our country has haunted me. The fact that some born in 1952 died in Viet Nam also gives me pause. However, I remind myself that I didn’t do anything to stop myself from going in or staying out. It was the draw.

How do you explain these life events? Is it time and chance? Luck of the draw? Jupiter happens to align with Mars or something spiritual?

I have to balance that between two verses:

Matthew 5:45

that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Psalm 23:6

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Did you ever dream you were a sixth grader just getting to school and finding out there was a history test? You didn’t get the memo and now you are asking yourself, how can I wing it? Similar dreams have played in my head on many a night.  It could be about old school days or a sermon I had to wing because I wasn’t prepared. Dreams are not reality and I don’t understand the need for them. Freud thought dreams are repressed content, ideas or themes. He didn’t know either.

Unlike those recurring dreams, I desire to be always ready for what is expected of me. The Bible makes that very clear.

2 Timothy 2:15 

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Forget the dreams, and don’t allow daydreaming to keep you from responsibility.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Her name was Candy and she was a little sheltie mix. I would have her on a leash if I was taking her to see a vet. Everything went well until I opened the door to the vet’s office. She could in one quick motion twist her head, throw off the collar the leash was connected to, and head back to the truck. She was thinking, “Something doesn’t smell right about this place.”

 “Does it pass the smell test?” is an idiomatic expression many are familiar with. Some say the phrase originally applied to checking the freshness of fish or other seafood simply by sniffing it.

It is also used by my translation of discernment that is found in Scripture:

Hebrews 5:14

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Proverbs 15:21

Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, But a man of understanding walks uprightly.

Anosmia is the partial or full loss of smell. Do you suffer from it?

Give it some thought.

Gary

“What Have They Done to My Song, Ma” is a song written and performed by Melanie Safka. It was co-written by HM Saffer II, a notable American painter and musician who worked for Warner Brothers Productions. It was released in 1970.

Look what they done to my song ma
Look what they done to my song
Well it’s the only thing
That I could do half right
And it’s turning out all wrong ma
Look what they done to my song

Look what they done to my brain ma
Look what they done to my brain
Well they picked it like a chicken bone
And I think I’m half insane ma
Look what they done to my song

The key word here is “they.”  Life would have been happier and more productive if it hadn’t been for “they.” Israel had the  Edomites, the Ishmaelites, Moab, the Hagarites, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia, and Tyre and Assyria, not to mention the Philistines and Babylonians. It sure was enough to keep them busy.

I could say, “Look what they done to their song.” However, the truth of the matter is that Israel itself was the enemy that brought the nation down.

Sometimes we have to look in the mirror to see who the enemy really is.

Galatians 5:16 

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.I 

1 Corinthians 10:13 

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Give it some thought and face it.

Gary

Two men are hiking through the woods when one of them cries out, “Snake! Run!”
His companion laughs at him. “Oh, relax. It’s only a baby,” he says. “Don’t you hear the rattle?”
—Steve Smith

Many believe the myth that baby rattlers are more dangerous than adults. Not so. However, they are still dangerous. All rattlesnakes are dangerous. Don’t mess with any of them.

The same holds true in Scripture. The devil disguises himself and so do his minions. Be careful with them.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

Be careful out there and don’t fool with any of them.

Think about it.

Gary

There is a story of a woodpecker who was pecking on a tree. Just as he flew away, lightning hit the tree and split it right down the middle. The woodpecker heard the noise, turned back, and said, “Look what I did!”

A lot of us are like spiritual woodpeckers. We walk around consciously and subconsciously and say, “Look at the house I’ve bought. Look at this car I drive. Look at the school I went to. Look at the job I have. Look at what I have done.” But the only reason we have anything is because God let lightning strike. King David is a case in point.

2 Samuel 7:8-9

Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.

How active has God been in your life?

Give it some thought.

Gary

Why do we put candles on the top of birthday cakes?

Because it’s too hard to put them on the bottom!

Some questions seem so simple, yet we get the answer wrong. Think about some questions found in the Bible:

“Did God really say . . . ?” (Genesis 3:1) 

“Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9)

“Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9)

“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8)

“What shall I do then with Jesus?” (Matthew 27:22)

“Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

How do you answer these questions?

Give it some thought.

Gary