She was legally married five times, but now she was just living with a man. Pundits make humor out of these accounts, but God found nothing humorous about it. He knew this person was in trouble and needed what only a loving Savior could offer. We can make a mess out of our lives by always allowing the flesh to dictate our next move. The years quickly pile up, and we discover the hole that’s been dug is too deep to crawl out of.

The song says, “I met Jesus at the crossroad where the two ways meet.” That was certainly true of the Samaritan woman in John Chapter four. That has also been true for multitudes over the last two millennia. Not only was she delivered, but she also brought a city out to hear Jesus’ bondage-breaking message.

Read John Chapter four slowly and thoughtfully and count the similarities between her conversion and yours.

Think about it.

Gary

Preacher or politician, that’s what she stated to many individuals over six decades about moi. She was my third grade teacher and you can conclude from the statement, I was a challenge. The ironic thing is, that although she was not a prophetess, her prophecy came true. I started preaching in 1977 and have been at it ever since.

It just goes to show that some goofy kid in your classroom could grow up to be beneficial to society.

Always acknowledge kids and try to encourage them along life’s pathway.

Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.   James Baldwin

Children have one kind of silliness, as you know, and grown-ups have another kind.  C.S. Lewis

Matthew 19:14

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

He gave that invitation to children and adults also. You qualify.

Give it some thought.

Gary

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise-military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States (a neutral country at the time) against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, just before 08:00, on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941. Twenty-one ships were damaged or lost in the attack; 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded.

The sad part of that happening is the fact that the information to avoid it was in American hands but failed to get to the right personnel. So many tragic mistakes were made.

When this life is over and a review at the great white throne judgment is held, how many tragic stories will be revealed? It doesn’t have to be that way.

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

Study the history of when Israel trusted God. Study when Moses trusted God. Study when Peter trusted God. Leaning on your own understanding may also leave one lacking the information to be saved from disaster.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Paul was in a Roman prison, not for a crime he committed, but for the fact he was called to preach the Gospel. The path for any believer in the King’s service can lead to some very uncomfortable situations.  Paul never called himself a Roman prisoner but referred to himself as the Lord’s prisoner.

This committed servant penned four epistles from prison that have been a blessing and challenge to a multitude of believers through the centuries. With some, it’s not prison but a financial crisis, a sickness, a tragedy, the loss of a loved one or a bad marriage. Whatever the situation, God brings out of it a blessing to others.

Don’t believe the prosperity preachers because His ways are not our ways. An in-depth study of the Scriptures will convince anyone of that. Listening to them and believing them will lead to serious error, but trusting the canon of Scripture will guide to enlightenment.

Philippians 4:7 

and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Guard is a military term meaning “to keep watch over.”

Your heart and mind will stay healthy when you embrace the situation God has placed you in.

Give it some thought.

Gary

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