Paula and I are walking down a narrow trail which has thick vegetation on both sides. Our dog, Missy, (so called because she’s from Mississippi), is smelling both sides of the trail. She pokes her head into the thicket and immediately rebounds in horror. A young skunk struts out behind her, obviously put out of his hiding place. At the same time, a pungent odor reaches our noses. This is not going to be a good evening.

Did you ever stick your nose where it didn’t belong? Yes, we’ve all experienced that at one time or another. Did you know the Bible warns of such happenings?

1 Thessalonians 4:11 

And to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,

Proverbs 26:17 

Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.

Make sure you don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, for you too could raise a real stink.

Give it some thought.

Gary

God answers prayers. How many times do we hear that statement? Truth of the matter: that is not a true statement as most think of it.  The Creator can be silent, which in most cases means no. With some, they have no password. (We are to come before God with Jesus as our mediator.) Then God answers some prayers, but not all are answered in the way we expect. Let me give you some cases in point.

David prayed he would be taken to a place where he wouldn’t have to deal with reality.

Psalm 55:6-8

And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
I would hurry to find a shelter
from the raging wind and tempest.”

Elijah asked God to take his life.

1 Kings 19:4

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 

The double-minded man’s reality:

James 1:7–8

For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

God has rules when it comes to answered prayer, so make sure you’re playing by the rules. The first is that you must be a bonified child of God.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Today I share memories of my kindergarten class in 1957. Seating accommodations allowed for six to a little table with four tables in the room. We each had a metal lunch pail with some cartoon character on the cover. We would trade sandwiches and sweets with each other at lunch time. There were little mats that would be placed on the floor so we could have some down-time after lunch. Wooden blocks were available for us to play with at recess on a rainy day. A free-standing abacus stood in the room for reasons unknown. I didn’t know my colors or letters and had no plans of ever learning them.

Sixty-five years ago, this fall will be the anniversary of this foundational event. I think Gram (Yeah, she was my teacher.) passed me on to first grade because she couldn’t handle me for another year. Neither one of us had any idea what kind of a hand life would deal to us. Today, I have a master’s degree hanging on the wall. I wonder what she would think of that.

Life is like a river, just moving us forward and never taking us back. We look at little ones in our lives and wonder what the future has in store for them.  At least we can try and provide this attitude for them:

Psalm 127:3-5 

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!  

Matthew 19:14 

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

When you see a child, think of yourself at that age.

Give it some thought.

Gary

This song was originally written and performed by Bob Dylan for the soundtrack to the 1973 film Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.  The song is about an officer who, having accidentally shot the kid, is wondering and hoping, while lying on his death bed that he will be let into heaven, hence “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” He knocks because he thinks he needs permission to enter there.

Although this is Hollywood which employs imagination, it does represent the beliefs of a great number of people. They erroneously believe that they have to ask permission to get into heaven. One never knows if the answer will be in the affirmative on in the negative. For some, it’s all based on a very complicated formula that no one on earth understands.

It wasn’t that way with Jesus:

Luke 23:43

And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

1 John 5:13

 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

You don’t want to be tentatively knocking on heaven’s door. You need to read the Book that tells you of a grand entrance which is available for you.

Think about it.

Gary

Bernard Shaw played the “What If” game shortly before he died. “Mr. Shaw,” asked a reporter, “if you could live your life over and be anybody you’ve known, or any person from history, who would you be?”

“I would choose,” replied Shaw, “to be the man George Bernard Shaw could have been, but never was.”

“Too late” is such a sad statement. Those who profess to be self-made individuals are disappointed at the finished product. Paul was originally a self-made man until he received a “do-over” by the risen Savior. This is how he described it:

Philippians 3:7-8

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Will you continue your vain attempt at building a life or turn the project over to the One who put you here?

Think about it.

Gary

You don’t have to be taught to be angry. Go to the nursery and find the sweetest baby girl in there. Take away her bottle, or don’t change her diaper on cue, and you will see anger such as you seldom see elsewhere. You will soon see a red face, contorted with rage. No doubt, you will also hear sounds that penetrate the walls.

The Bible has a lot to say about the subject of anger:

Proverbs 14:29 

Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

Ephesians 4:26 

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

Ecclesiastes 7:9 

Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.

When you give a person a piece of your mind, you lose part of yours.

Lord, help me with my anger issues towards those who delete these devotionals without giving them any thought.

Think about it.

Gary

Once a man who had been slandered by a newspaper came to Edward Everett and asked him what to do about it.

 “Don’t do anything,” Everett advised. “Half the people who bought the paper never saw the article. Half of those who saw it did not read it. Half of those who read it did not understand it. Half of those who understood it did not believe it. And half of those who believed it are of no account anyway.”

 If you are known to be hard-working and successful, you have a target on your back. Others who can’t fit into your shoes will go out of their way to try and bring you down. This has been true since the ink dried on the book of Genesis.

James 3:14 

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 

Exodus 20:17 

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Proverbs 24:19-20 

Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

Do your best and use your God-given gifts.  Remember, however, that it will always attract the twins of envy and jealousy.

Give it some thought.

Gary