There are four ages of man:

1) when you believe in Santa Claus,

2) when you don’t believe in Santa Claus,

3) when you are Santa Claus,

4) when you look like Santa Claus.

That’s about the way it is. No amount of exercise, medication, medical procedures or vitamins will change the inevitable. It’s certainly more productive to emphasize the hereafter over the here-and-now.

Psalm 90:10

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Ephesians 5:16

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

Give it some thought.

Gary

A foreigner in Israel made a decision about serving God and King David who had just been driven from the throne. Ittai brought many with him to wander along with the rejected king in his time of need.

 2 Samuel 15:19-21 

But suddenly the king turned to Ittai, the captain of the six hundred Gittites, and said to him, “What are you doing here? Go on back with your men to Jerusalem, to your king, for you are a guest in Israel, a foreigner in exile. It seems but yesterday that you arrived, and now today should I force you to wander with us, who knows where? Go on back and take your troops with you, and may the Lord be merciful to you.”

But Ittai replied, “I vow by God and by your own life that wherever you go, I will go, no matter what happens—whether it means life or death.”

Believers are also foreigners in this world who have made a decision to serve the rejected King. Our decision is not taken lightly and could cost us dearly. It should reveal whose side we are on and how far we will go.

Ephesians 2:19

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

Give it some thought.

Gary

Charles the Simple, Son of Louis the Stammerer, was so-called for his policy of making concessions to the Norse invaders rather than fighting.

Louis the Sluggard, noted for his self-indulgence, ruled from 986 to 987 over the Franks.

Ethelred the Unready (968-1016) was so-called because of his inability to repel the Danish invasion of England. At first, he paid tribute to the Danes, but their raids continued, and he was forced to abandon England for Normandy in 1013. Those who are more generous call him Ethelred the Ill-advised.

Louis the Fat, like his father, was obese. At the age of forty-seven because of his extreme corpulence, he was unable to mount his horse.

Just a thought, but what do you think the historians will call us?  Will our decisions and appetites give rise to a name that is less than complimentary?

Colossians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. 

1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Think about it.

Gary the Concerned

Men who trap animals in Africa for zoos in America say that one of the hardest animals to catch is the ring-tailed monkey. For the Zulus of that continent, however, it’s simple. They’ve been catching this agile little animal with ease for years. The method the Zulus use is based on knowledge of the animal. Their trap is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine. The seeds of this melon are a favorite of the monkey. Knowing this, the Zulus simply cut a hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand to reach the seeds inside. The monkey will stick his hand in, grab as many seeds as he can, then start to withdraw it. This he cannot do. His fist is now larger than the hole. The monkey will pull and tug, screech and fight the melon for hours. But he can’t get free of the trap unless he gives up the seeds, which he refuses to do. Meanwhile, the Zulus sneak up and nab him.

Proverbs 28:25 

A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched.

Luke 12:15 

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

What are you hanging on to that will put you into captivity?

Give it some thought.

Gary

When the 1960s ended, San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district reverted to high rent, and many hippies moved down the coast to Santa Cruz. They had children and got married, too, though in no particular order.  They didn’t name their children Melissa or Brett, however. People in the mountains around Santa Cruz grew accustomed to their children playing frisbee with Little Time Warp or Spring Fever. And eventually, Moonbeam, Earth, Love and Precious Promise all ended up in public school.

That’s when the kindergarten teachers first met Fruit Stand. Every fall, according to tradition, parents bravely applied name tags to their children, kissed them good-bye and sent them off to school on the bus. So it was for Fruit Stand. The teachers thought the boy’s name was odd, but they tried to make the best of it.

“Would you like to play with the blocks, Fruit Stand?” they offered. And later, “Fruit Stand, how about a snack?” He accepted hesitantly. By the end of the day, his name didn’t seem much odder than Heather’s or Sun Ray’s.

At dismissal time, the teachers led the children out to the buses. “Fruit Stand, do you know which one is your bus?”

He didn’t answer. That wasn’t strange. He hadn’t answered them all day. Lots of children are shy on the first day of school. It didn’t matter. The teachers had instructed the parents to write the names of their children’s bus stops on the reverse side of their name tags. The teacher simply turned over the tag. There, neatly printed, was the word “Anthony.”

I don’t mind my name and maybe you don’t mind yours either. However, God does have a new name for us that only He knows.

Revelation 2:17

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”

Don’t worry, Fruit Stand. There is a better name coming.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Her name was Anna which means “gracious” or “one who gives.” She lived on the planet during difficult times but made something of her name. God identified her in His book which will live forever.

Luke 2:36-38

And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

There are 500,000 Annas just in the United States. Question is, How many live for Him and don’t depart from the truth found in the Word? If I were an Anna, I would desire those words coming from God would be about me.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Out Came the Sun is a book written by Mariel Hemingway.   Born just a few months after her grandfather, Ernest Hemingway, shot himself, it was Mariel’s mission as a girl to escape the desperate cycles of severe mental health issues that had plagued generations of her family. Surrounded by a family tortured by alcoholism (both parents), depression (her sister Margaux), suicide (her grandfather and four other members of her family), schizophrenia (her sister Muffet), and cancer (her mother), it was all the young Mariel could do to keep her head.

Individuals like this cause those of us who have enjoyed a normal life, to be amazed at how some escape such things. The other thought that comes to my mind is how we as Christians buckle under the slightest provocation that life can throw at us, when we have such promises in Scripture concerning overcoming.

Romans 12:21 

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

John 16:33 

I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

1 John 4:4 

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Give it some thought.

Gary