I recall being three years old and standing on the seat of that brand new 1955 GMC pickup. Dad had just purchased his first new vehicle and the dealership was tanking it up for free.  My other seven siblings must have been home at the time, and they had only brought the brat. In reality, trucks were much smaller in those days and more than three individuals would be a tight-fit in that cab. The column had a three-speed forward and reverse gear and my mom could handle that as well as Dad.

I’m examining that event sixty-six years later. That truck was for work, for getting necessary things for the home, and for pleasure. It was utilitarian. Except for the 5 ½ Evinrude outboard motor and the Homelite chainsaw, that was it for gas engines at our place.

People die and life takes you from childhood to the nursing home at breakneck speed.  There is a message in this essay about today:

Hebrews 3:13

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Machines change, people change, and values change. But in this world, there is one constant:

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Give it some thought.

Gary

When I was in EMS, another medic told me about a mother who allowed her kids to play in the road. Every once in a while, one of the children would get hit by a car. Those situations never seemed to change her faith in God.

Sometimes Christians will tell me they don’t take precautions when it comes to Covid-19. They just have a tremendous faith in God. Now I take as many precautions as I can, and I believe myself to have faith in God.

Sometimes the devil lies to individuals to get them off track. He tried that with Jesus, so I think he does that with believers also.

Matthew 4:6-7

 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’

The evil one has a working knowledge of the Word of God. Don’t listen to him, for he’s a liar.

Can you imagine Paul saying to Timothy, “Don’t worry about my coat because God will keep me warm this winter.”? Timothy would have to lug that garment a great distance over some rough territory to get it to Paul.

Think about it and keep yourself and others safe.

Gary

Don’t forget when writing a date that it will be 2022. Some of us old geezers are still mistakenly putting a nineteen instead of a twenty. I don’t know about you but it seems like these past years flew by. Of course waiting to see if the computers of the world would go into a tailspin at the turn of the century seems like yesterday and that was twenty two years ago.

Here is something new you can do in the New Year if you haven’t already done so.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

If you haven’t entered into God’s covenant it is not too late.

Hebrews 12:24

To Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

Also if you are a young Christian here is some sound advice.

1 Peter 2:2

As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

I hope this is not new to you but give it some thought.

Gary

The definition of a pawn is a person or thing manipulated and used by others or a game piece in the game of chess. A person unwittingly used in a scheme and taken advantage of by others is an example of a pawn.

The conversation in the garden between Eve and Satan is the manipulation of a pawn. The meeting of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler in 1938 is another case in point.

A nephew in jail asking me for bail money, when I don’t have a nephew in jail, is my personal example. (It didn’t work on me.)  The constant phone scams looking for a pawn seem to have no end.

The Bible makes it clear in this game of life.

2 Corinthians 11:13

 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

Ephesians 5:6

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.

Jeremiah 9:6

You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,” declares the LORD.

These verses are just the tip of the iceberg with individuals seeking a pawn.

Don’t become one.

Give it some thought.

Gary

This old world of ours can suffer some real droughts and sometimes famine can raise its ugly head. However, even if life is not that severe for you, there can be some dry times and a hunger for something you’re really not sure of.

The hymn writer put it like this:

God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me

He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way

By a roadway in the wilderness, He’ll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and Earth will fade but His Word will still remain
And He will do something new today

The ancient prophet mentioned a famine like no other:

Amos 8:11

 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.

If you are in the Word and the Word is in you, everything is good. That not being the case, you need to wake up to the famine that has eternal consequences.

Give it some thought.

Gary

One of the stanzas in an old love song states, “Before too long I built my world around you. And I prayed you’d love enough of me to stay.” This is probably not a good spot to build your world around, for I’m not sure what percentage of love is satisfactory for one to stay.

Years back many folks built their homes near a river. There was never a consideration that this could be a floodplain.  What a tragedy when the discovery of such a mistake in construction was only realized when a flood happened.

Every one of us is in the business of building many things.  It can be a personal-building project or a corporate endeavor. This would also include relationships. However, we must always consider the possible lifespan of what our time, money and soul are being placed in.

Job built his life around the Creator. After losing everything on this Earth except God, he still believed he had all he needed.

This was his statement while still in the furnace:

Job 13:15 “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:

Start building your world around God, and when everything else evaporates, you can still mouth such a statement.

Give it some thought, you, builder of worlds.

Gary

“Summer Wine” is a song written by Lee Hazlewood. It was originally sung by Suzi Jane Hokom and Lee Hazlewood in 1966. It’s about a proud cowboy coming into town thinking he was worth a million. She saw him coming, and with her summer wine and smooth talk, he was taken for all he was worth. Robbed, he awakened with a headache that would haunt him the rest of his days.

The Bible describes such scenes played over and over again in every generation:

Proverbs 7:6-10

For at the window of my house
I looked through my lattice,
And saw among the simple,
I perceived among the youths,
A young man devoid of understanding,
Passing along the street near her corner;
And he took the path to her house
In the twilight, in the evening,
In the black and dark night.
And there a woman met him,
With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.

If a person is to rightly interpret Scripture, he realizes that the “she” doesn’t have to be a woman. “She” can represent a business deal, alcohol, a drug, a relationship or even a career. What’s contained in her deceit is the destruction of the soul. As a song writer once put it, “Another one bites the dust.”

Proverbs is the book of wisdom. One must face the realization that “she” is there and awaits the foolish.

Give it some thought.

Gary