The Christmas Truce is memorialized in the following song:

“Belleau Wood,” sung by Garth Brooks; songwriters Joe Henry and Garth Brooks (1997).

Oh, the snowflakes fell in silence
Over Belleau Wood that night
For a Christmas truce had been declared
By both sides of the fight

As we lay there in our trenches
The silence broke in two
By a German soldier singing
A song that we all knew

 Though I did not know the language
The song was “Silent Night”

Then I heard my buddy whisper,
“All is calm and all is bright”

Then the fear and doubt surrounded me
‘Cause I’d die if I was wrong
But I stood up in my trench
And I began to sing along

Then across the frozen battlefield
Another’s voice joined in
Until one by one each man became
A singer of the hymn

Then I thought that I was dreaming
For right there in my sight
Stood the German soldier
‘Neath the falling flakes of white

And he raised his hand and smiled at me
As if he seemed to say
Here’s hoping we both live
To see us find a better way

Then the devil’s clock struck midnight
And the skies lit up again
And the battlefield where heaven stood
Was blown to hell again

But for just one fleeting moment
The answer seemed so clear
Heaven’s not beyond the clouds
It’s just beyond the fear

No, heaven’s not beyond the clouds
It’s for us to find it here

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.

Isaiah 26:3

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

In a world gone crazy, heaven’s not far away.

Give it some thought.

Gary

The children get together and decide to give their father a history of the family, drawn up by a professional, for his 75^th birthday. But they warn this man about the family’s black sheep, the skeleton in the closet, Great-Uncle George. He went over to the states after the war and ended up being executed in the electric chair for murder. “It’s all right,” said the biographer. “I can handle that. I’ll say that Great-Uncle George occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important government institution in America. He was attached to his position by the strongest of ties and his death came as a terrible shock.”

                         –  Author unknown

Perfect example of giving a message to an audience that, on face value, is truthful but leading one away from honesty. This is how false teachers in the Word were described.

Jeremiah 23:16

This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.

Matthew 24:24

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

2 Timothy 4:3-4

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

When listening to the modern preacher, perhaps we need to check a little deeper than the surface.

Give it some thought.

Gary

A person’s mental attitude has an almost unbelievable effect on his powers, both physical and psychological. The British psychiatrist, J.A. Hadfield, gives a striking illustration of this fact in his booklet, The Psychology of Power. “I asked three people,” he wrote, “to submit themselves to test the effect of mental suggestion on their strength, which was measured by gripping a dynamometer.” They were to grip the dynamometer with all their strength under three different sets of conditions.

First, he tested them under normal conditions. The average grip was 101 pounds. Then he tested them after he had hypnotized them and told them that they were very weak. Their average grip this time was only 29 pounds! In the third test, Dr. Hadfield told them under hypnosis that they were very strong. The average grip jumped to 142 pounds.

–       Bits and Pieces, May, 1991, p. 15

The word for today is encouragement:

Hebrews 10:24-25

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching”

Others could do better if we just found it in our hearts to encourage them to do better.

Think about it.

Gary

A. B. Simpson is reported to have said, “The gospel tells rebellious men that God is reconciled, that justice is satisfied, that sin has been atoned for, that the judgment of the guilty may be revoked, the condemnation of the sinner cancelled, the curse of the Law blotted out, the gates of hell closed, the portals of heaven opened wide, the power of sin subdued, the guilty conscience healed, the broken heart comforted, the sorrow and misery of the Fall undone.”

2 Corinthians 5:18

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

Colossians 1:20

And through him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.

One great act by the Son of God proved to be more powerful that the beginning of Creation itself.

Give it some thought.

Gary

I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy both autobiographies and biographies. I like to get into the heads of individuals and vicariously go where they’ve been and experience their adventures. I was with Washington when he crossed the Delaware to attack the Hessians. I was with Grant at Appomattox. When General Persian took the AEF to France, I disembarked from the ship. The Battle of the Bulge proved to be a hairy experience for me because we thought the war was about over. At the Chosen Reservoir it was so cold, I didn’t know if I’d die from a bullet or frostbite. Viet Nam for a kid brought up on John Wayne movies was a complete shock to the system. Besides all this, climbing Mt. Everest was an unmatched experience and the Appalachian Trail was well worth the time and money.

During this same lifetime, as I read God’s Word, I find myself standing with Moses before Pharaoh, building the Ark with Noah, watching the walls of Jericho fall down, observing David go up against Goliath, crying at the foot of the cross at Calvary, watching Saul being knocked off his horse and then following him on all his missionary journeys.

I am so very glad God gave me these experiences.

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

If your life is boring, pick up some books and dive in.  Remember, however, that there is one Book above all others.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Someone once asked Wayne Gretzky, the great hockey player, how he managed to become the best goal-scorer in the history of the game. He simply replied, “Well, while everyone else is chasing the puck, I go where the puck is going to be.”

Simple but effective. That is not only true in hockey, but it’s also true in Christianity. Where is God working? That should be the place where we are heading.

Isaiah 6:8 

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

Mark 16:15 

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Let’s not chase the world, but let’s move in the right direction.

Give it some thought.

Gary

You don’t tug on superman’s cape
You don’t spit into the wind
You don’t pull the mask off that old lone ranger
And you don’t mess around with Jim

“You Don’t Mess Around with Jim” is a 1972 strophic story song by Jim Croce from his album of the same name.

Jim was the big man in the neighborhood until Slim came for revenge. The story of Jim ends and the story of Slim begins.

And when the cuttin’ were done
The only part that wasn’t bloody
Was the soles of the big man’s feet
Yeah he were cut in about a hundred places
And he were shot in a couple more
And you better believe
They sung a different kind of story
When big Jim hit the floor 

The lesson is that there is always someone more powerful and the ultimate power is God. The Old Testament patriarch Jacob was tough and cunning, but then he met God and got whipped.

Hebrews 9:27 

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

The best in the universe will always win in the end. Are you ready, Big Man?

Give it some thought.

Gary