Charlie Brown is seen at bat. “STRIKE THREE!” He has struck out again and slumps down on the players’ bench. He says, “Rats! I’ll never be a big league player. I just don’t have it! All my life I’ve dreamed of playing in the big leagues, but I know I’ll never make it.”

Lucy turns to console him. “Charlie Brown, you’re thinking too far ahead. What you need to do is set yourself more immediate goals.”

Charlie Brown looks up and asks, “Immediate goals?”

Lucy responds, “Yes. Start with this next inning when you go out to pitch. See if you can walk out to the mound without falling down.”

Many a person has set the bar too high. We are here for such a short period of time and our goals can be elusive. Why not enter into the Creator’s plan for our lives?

Proverbs 16:3

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.

Proverbs 19:21

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Why don’t you just, in the will of God, make it to the mound without falling down? Our dreams can turn into nightmares, but God has designed us to succeed in His perfect will.

Think about it and go out there. After all, you are the pitcher.

Gary

The reality TV program Survivor was at one time watched by 30 million Americans. The program itself was full of backstabbing, lying, and manipulation. Did people watch that because it reminded them of their family, town, workplace or church? Did art imitate life?

It is my personal belief that the Apostle Paul was addressing this phenomenon in the epistles.

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Gal 6:10

Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

1 Corinthians 1:10

 I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

What program are you trying to imitate, the one found on television or the one set forth in the Word of God?

Think about it.

Gary

You have faith in God and have committed your way to Him.  You are faithful to His family on earth and yourself. Ironically, tragedy strikes time and time again and you just can’t seem to bear up under it. You feel like the swimmer going down for the third time. “Why?” – is the question that is repeated by you and others. Does God have a divine purpose in all of this?

Three accounts in Scripture shine light on this phenomenon.

The first is Joseph’s statement to his brothers.

Genesis 50:20

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

The second is Job.

Job 42:1-2

Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.

The third is Jesus the Christ.

Matthew 26:39

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

The Bible says we walk by faith, not by sight. The Ancient Words teach that He leads us and not the other way around. The Scriptures make it clear that we see through a glass darkly, but He knows the way we need to take.

Give it some thought.

Gary

He was a young boy taken captive by a foreign power. The nation of his birth was destroyed. That was the nation God had raised up to be a testimony to the world. Now it no longer existed. His parents were probably killed and it seems he had no close relatives.

This new environment had a goal of making captives conform to its religion and politics. He was castrated, then sent to school to learn the ways of this strange and godless nation. How much could a young person take?

You would think that with all that was against him, he would just conform or die. That was not the case. In spite of his situation, his faith in the one true God was unshakable.

Daniel 1:8

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself

The word “purpose” defined: to have as one’s intention or objective. Daniel’s purpose was clearly seen even into old age.

What’s your purpose?

Think about it.

Gary

Expressing anger and disappointment, an individual explained his disillusionment about our country and its leaders to me.  I don’t use a couch; I can examine this kind of individual in any place or position.  After careful consideration of the way in which he spent his time, I came up with a diagnosis. I call it “newsitis.” It occurs when a constant harangue about politics and changes in culture is consumed by an individual over a long period of time.  It causes an inflammation of the frontal cortex. The solution is to only observe the media on a very limited basis. At the same time, my patient should fill the void with what the Bible calls “doing good.”  It works almost every time but especially for believers.

Galatians 6:10

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Ephesians 2:10

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Are you talking unkindly about the president, complaining about CDC rules, crying about AOC, or being frightened by inflation? Take this pill.

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

In my years of practice in this field, I find the above-mentioned the only way back to a sane mind.

Think about it.

Gary

A woman once told me she would come to church, but gas was just too expensive. I told her we would give gas cards, but that was only to reveal to her the shallowness of her excuse. All those empty excuses will evaporate when an individual stands before God.

There was a man in the Bible that could have come up with all kinds of excuses not to serve: The odds are against me. The location is too dangerous. The weather is not cooperating. The enemy is better-equipped. Someone else could go.

2 Samuel 23:20-22

Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.  And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors.

The Book gives us many examples of individuals who saw opportunities where others saw danger and produced excuses.

What’s your excuse?

Give it some thought.

Gary

Edgar A. Guest was a very popular poet for several decades during the twentieth century, and his poems appeared in a syndicated newspaper column. On March 3, 1921, he published the following work:

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and debts are high,
And you want to smile but have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won if he’d stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow.
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up,
When he might captured the victor’s cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.

His name was Shammah and he found himself in a place he would defend to the death for his God and nation. Some would say it is just a field of beans, but Shammah believed every one of them belonged to God’s people.

2 Samuel 23:11-12

 When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them.  But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.

We all need something worth defending. Personally, I believe it’s the church Christ died for two thousand years ago and the apostles yielded their lives for.

Give it some thought.

Gary