On a cold February morning and I was standing back, watching the loader-operator put the last logs on the front tier of my trailer. I would soon move forward to attach the safety chains when he would start loading my back tier. There was one log sticking up too high for the powerlines, so I signaled for him to reverse the log by turning it 180 degrees. When he lifted that log, my front stake broke at the base and the logs tumbled unto the ground. If I hadn’t asked him to rearrange that one log before I attached the chains, I would have been under that avalanche.

We looked at each other with surprise and shock. Proof lay before us as to how dangerous the woods’ industry can be.

We live in a dangerous and uncertain world and you never know what a day may bring forth. However, you can know the One who oversees your day.

 2 Timothy 4:18

The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Whether we stay here or go home to our heavenly abode, His presence makes us secure.

Think about it.

Gary

When someone asks you for your opinion by saying, “A penny for your thoughts?”  and you yield to the temptation and  put in your two-cents-worth …. What happens to the other penny? Someone said, “It is better to have people think you are a fool than to open your mouth and prove it.” Been there; done that.

The Bible gives excellent advice on the subject of opinions and advice.

Proverbs 18:2 

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

James 1:19 

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Next time someone asks for your opinion on a subject, replay these two verses in your mind.

Think about it.

Gary

Stop the World (And Let Me Off) is a song written by W.S. Stevenson & Carl Belew and has been performed by a number of famous country singers, including Waylon Jennings and Patsy Cline.

Stop the world and let me off
I’m tired of going round and round

I’ve played the game of love and lost
Stop the world and let me off

I was in my late twenties and a friend of mine said at the fair, “Let’s take a ride on what was called the Zipper.” This contraption turned every way imaginable at great speeds. Earlier that day, I had observed them wielding on that contraption which made it more difficult to acquiesce to his wishes. Not wanting him to think I was less of a man than he was, I went along.

As soon as we made the first revolution, the realization that I had made a stupid decision hit me like a bolt of lightning. How I wanted to escape from that horror, but no one was getting off until that beast’s set-time was up.

Many times as I walked this world, that same feeling has overtaken me. No, we must go on in spite of fear and sickness. The Word teaches us to be careful as we continue on this journey that we can’t escape.

Ephesians 5:15-17

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

I’m making a real effort to cut down on foolish decisions that put me into such a mind frame.

Think about it

Gary

I hate that when I go to use my phone and the battery is dead because I didn’t put it in the charger. My phone is a Panasonic so it can last for many days on one charge.

Did you know that Christians are designed in the same way? One charge is only good for a short period of time.  That is why we need to develop a daily habit of being in the Word.

My Sunday school does a chapter a day which means we read and discuss the entire Bible in thirty-nine months.  If you desire to join the class, I can send you the reading schedule and questions for each chapter. Even if you can’t be there in person, your presence will be appreciated from afar.

Isaiah 40:31 

 But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Think about it.

Gary

When I was young, a lot of decades ago, the Bee Gees were my favorite group of singers. Both they and I separated as time went on; however, a stanza in one of their ancient songs struck me. The title of the song is Words.

You think that I don’t even mean
A single word I say
It’s only words and words are all I have
To take your heart away

I got to thinking about that statement and the realization hit me that this is the way most people look at the Scriptures–since you can’t believe people, you can’t believe what God has to say.

An elderly lady told me today after a Bible Study in the nursing home, “We have to believe that because it is the Word of God.” She acknowledged that some things from the Word of God are difficult to believe.

God has chosen words to speak to the human race.

Romans 10:17

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of God.

These words, unlike the words of the Bee Gees, can take our heart away forever.

Think about it.

Gary

This was a historical statement: “As long as the grass shall grow and as long as the river flows.” Such were the promises given to the Native American people by Andrew Jackson. The grass continued to grow and the rivers continued to flow, but the white man’s words rang hollow. Within ten years, the promise was broken.

The Muslim warrior promised seventy-two virgins in heaven also fits into this category as does a place in heaven being secured by producing multiple children. This includes the good old boys who think they will sit around drinking beer and telling jokes in heaven.

Don’t picture heaven from the depths of man’s evil imagination but get it from the Creator of that wonderful place. The truth about heaven lies in the ancient words of Scripture.

John 14:1-2

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Is it time to find the truth about that eternal reality?

Think about it.

Gary

In the fall of ’82, I was cutting hardwood trees for firewood on a ridge. I felled a tree which landed into another hardwood, bending it over like a slingshot. Suddenly, it sent my falling tree flying back at me. There was no time to run, so I dove in the opposite direction. The tree slammed into the tire of the skidder. It was the closest call I ever had while harvesting trees.

I’ve viewed forestry accidents where death was involved and can’t explain why I made it out of that situation. The Bible says the rain falls on the just and the unjust so that leaves me without an explanation.

The question in my mind is what have I done between now and the fall of ‘82?  Did I make any difference in this world in which I live?  I’m sure most of you can relate and tell your own stories of close calls. Did we glorify God because life continued?

1 Corinthians 10:31 

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

In a dangerous and uncertain world, we must consider these things.

Think about it.

Gary