My mother-in-law always had cattle and it was the boys’ job to clean the barn daily. They didn’t like that job because some of the stuff got attached to them.  If they had to be in the public after the cleanup, they feared that their body might have absorbed some of that odor.

However, those animals provided milk and meat for the table plus fertilizer for the garden which produced delicious crops.

The Bible speaks about relationships being like that. There is a downside to every person that comes into our lives and every endeavor we make.

Proverbs 14:4

 Without oxen a stable stays clean,
    but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.

Remember the manure is always worth the benefits.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Is God dead? That’s the question that Time Magazine famously asked way back in 1966, when Time Magazine mattered. The answer then and now is no; God is not dead, but a lot of the people who believed that are. I wonder what they discovered when that common event happened.

What they refused to believe was the fact that He is the Creator and the One through whom all the laws are made and enforced. Not believing in God is like not believing in gravity. Really?

This is what Scripture says about Him:

Acts 17:28

for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

Even pagan poets knew God was not dead. Believe what you want; it won’t change Him any.

Give it some thought.

Gary

President Lincoln sent Grant a telegram on April 7: “Gen. Sheridan says, ‘If the thing is pressed, I think that Lee will surrender.’ Let the thing be pressed.” At Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865, Sheridan blocked Lee’s escape, forcing the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia later that day.

The hymn writer used that same word many years ago:

I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining ev’ry day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where these abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

I want to live above the world,
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught a joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.

I want to scale the utmost height,
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,
“Lord, lead me on to higher ground.”

Philippians 3:14

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Give it some thought.

Gary

“Stand by Me” is a song originally performed in 1961 by American singer-songwriter Ben E. King and written by him, along with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who used the pseudonym Elmo Glick. According to King, the title is derived from, and was inspired by, a spiritual written by Sam Cooke and J. W. Alexander called “Stand by Me Father,”  recorded by the Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead. The third line of the second verse of the former work derives from Psalm 46:1-3.

That spiritual song goes like this:

Oh, Father You’ve been my friend
Now that I’m in trouble
Stand by me to the end, oh, oh
I want You to stand by, stand by

Well, all of my money and my friends are gone
God, I’m in a mean world
And I’m so all alone, oh, oh
I need You Jesus, stand by, stand by

Well, they tell me that
Samson killed in ancient times
I know that You helped
Him kill 10, 000 Philistines, oh
Whoa I need You, stand by, stand by

When I’m sick, Father, stand by
When they doctor walk away from my bedside
Stand by me father
When it seem like I don’t have a friend
I wonder would You be my friend
Stand closer, stand by

The secular, “Stand by Me,” made a lot of money and many of my generation still tear up at its playing today, some sixty years later. However, it’s too bad, though, the spiritual that it spring from didn’t have a similar influence to cause folks to acknowledge their need of God.

Psalm 46:1-3

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

Think about it. (Selah)

Gary

Christopher Reeves would have turned sixty-nine yesterday. This means we have a lot in common. If he were still alive, both of us would now be the same age. Also, we both played Superman. He played as an actor in a movie, while I was an actor too, but never made the movies. Using one of Mom’s bath towels and a safety pin to hold it up around my neck, I made believe I was flying. The other thing that we’d have in common is that life proved to us we that we were far from being super characters.

There was one super man on this planet and His name was Jesus. He was born of a virgin, proving He was from another world. He could heal the sick and raise the dead, proving He was truly the God-man He claimed to be.  The most miraculous thing was His going to Calvary. In the predetermined council and foreknowledge of God, He carried our sins and rose the third day, revealing God accepted His sacrifice.

Over seven centuries before the birth of Christ, this is what the prophet Isaiah had to say about Him:

Isaiah 53:1-12 

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. …

He was not an actor, but the real deal.

Give Him some thought.

Gary

Oliver Cromwell, who took the British throne away from Charles I and established the Commonwealth, said to a friend, “Do not trust to the cheering, for those persons would shout as much if you and I were going to be hanged.”

That would be true of those leading countries all over the world. The day is coming when God Himself will take the reins. Until that time, have pity on them and pray for them as the Bible commands.

1Timothy 2:2

Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.

Study the forty kings of Israel if you think it’s bad in our present age. It is eye-opening.

If you spent as much time praying for them as criticizing them, you might sleep better and they might change.

Give it some thought.

Gary

I checked the obituary this morning and, sure enough, I wasn’t in there. When you get old, that becomes a habit, because more often than not, there is someone you know written up in there. No, you weren’t in there either, but by the looks of you it probably won’t be long.  The question is are you ready for that sure event?

Jesus made a statement that gives us the assurance of a better place when that event takes place:

John 14:6

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

Jesus didn’t leave us in the dark. He can do what no person or institution can do. Where are you placing your bet and what have you done with Him?

Give it some thought.

Gary