I don’t know where he came from or where he ever ended up. With a master’s degree in history, he was camped out in the last little high school in America. He would have the chalkboard full of notes as he lectured in what seemed like a historical desert to most. Sometimes I would look around and realize I was the only one listening, for I liked history. Sometimes just to get the attention of the class, I would raise my hand.  He would acknowledge me and ask, “What is it, Gary?”  I would reply, “Mr., what is your dog’s name?”  He would drawl, “Dog.” Then he would go on lecturing just as if I had asked what political party Roosevelt belonged to. Everyone would look at him, then half-dazedly look at me momentarily. It wasn’t long before each student had returned to his or her own individual thoughts that probably had nothing to do with history.

Yes, it was like that in my school sometimes and like the song says, “When I think of all the things I learned in high school, it is a wonder that I can think at all.” However, let me say I wouldn’t want to change my educational journey for anything.  All those educators who tried to have some input into my life were planted there by God.

The psalmist put it this way:

Psalm 23:6

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

Maybe they didn’t have too much to work with at times; certainly, they didn’t receive much appreciation, but looking back, I am thankful that our paths crossed.

Think about it.

Gary

When he was elected, the American people hoped for an end to turmoil. Grant provided neither vigor nor reform. Looking to Congress for direction, he seemed bewildered. One visitor to the White House noted “a puzzled pathos, as of a man with a problem before him of which he does not understand the terms.”

There was another man found in Judges Chapter six that had that same quizzical look on his face when confronted with leadership. The only difference between the two men is that one trusted the Word of God and the other Congress. History of our country is replete with the failures of those who trusted Congress.

Yes, Gideon was that man and God worked with him and through him to deliver the children of Israel. God is not looking for a hand but a glove into which He can place His hand. All Gideon had to do was follow step by step what God directed and not lean on his own understanding.

God will, if we are willing, guide us with His eye.

Psalm 32:8-9

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
    which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
    or they will not come to you.

Give it some thought the next time you become confused.

Gary

I had just graduated from high school and had a job operating a skidder in a pulp operation. That summer was a challenge, but I stuck with it and made some good money for college. My experience in that camp was invaluable. I learned hard work and how to perform in that kind of environment. The work was dangerous.

There were probably thirty-some French Canadians in that camp. Breakfast and supper would find us all together at three long tables taking in all the calories we could possibly hold. I knew their faces but didn’t understand their language. By their demeanor, some seemed happy, some sad, some angry, some friendly and some not so friendly. It was a mixed bag of personalities.

At this particular evening meal, one of the cutters was missing. The foreman informed me that sometime during that day a tree had fallen on this woodsman killing him. My father and some others found a piece of plywood to transport him out of the woods to await a hearse. That evening the cook room was silent, and although I didn’t know him, I missed him.

That emotion has become an undesirable part of my life over the past fifty years. I read the obituaries and too often there is a name and face I recognize. The Bible makes it clear:

Hebrews 9:27

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

The circumstances will be different for everyone, but death is inevitable for all.

Think about it.

Gary

The Bible is a supernatural book that we read, but at the same time it reads us. Many people make the mistake of trying to read Scripture as they would a novel. You’ll not get any mileage out of that effort. Look more closely at what it has to say about you.

Romans 3:23

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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.”

Romans 10:9 

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

The Bible is a tremendous source of precious truths that need to be mined. That endeavor starts with Genesis and ends with Revelation. Along the way is a wealth of information that benefits life.

Proverbs 3:15

She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.

Psalm 139:17

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

Give it some thought and start digging. It will be the most rewarding of all your undertakings in life.

Gary

I have often told you about my dad being a foreman in the wood’s camps of old. How often I would trudge behind him from crew to crew as he directed the daily operations. His size-eleven boots would sink into the mud and I would try and place my size-seven feet into the same spot. Walking in his tracks was a game I played in my mind. My desire was to be like him, telling others what to do. He quit making tracks at the age of sixty-three and I never became a foreman.

Thankfully, in life I discovered another Father who makes spiritual tracks and I’m trying to follow them. One of these days, that effort will come to an abrupt end and our tracks will converge in heaven. Until that time, I often think of this verse.

2 John 1:4

It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.

Give it some thought.

Gary

The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not protect you. To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else.

This is a tremendous quote. The truth be known, would any one of us have a desire to put that concept into the test tube of life? There is an extensive record of individuals throughout the history of Christianity who have done exactly that.

Paul and Silas in a Roman prison experienced the same:

Acts 16:22-24

Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.  And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.  Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

We might never be called to such extremes; however, wherever we are called God has promised His grace is sufficient.

2 Corinthians 12:9

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Think about it.

Gary

Deception has a sting to it that sends a cold chill down your back. The first mention of such a diabolical event is found in Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3:1

Now the serpent was craftier than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

The NKJV uses the word cunning and the NLT uses the term shrewd. I ran into a fellow like that that at a fairground years ago in one of those game booths, and before he was done with me, my money was in his pocket. I’m still holding a grudge against an individual who owes me money on a case of beer from fifty-three years ago. If he dies and I have his funeral, I’m going to say, “It’s too bad he passed before he could pay me back. Now turn to 1 Thessalonians 4.”

Deception is practiced not only by the devil but also by some individuals; anyone who lives only for this life and not for the next is self-deceived:

Galatians 6:7

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

How are you doing when it comes to deception? The concept is sown into the very fabric of life.

Give it some thought, and if the person who owes me that money reads this, please respond to this devotional with a personal check.

Think about it.

Gary