Spring would come to my hometown, the ice would run in the rivers and slowly the water would start to recede.  For us boys it was time to be the first to swim across the river. There were maybe five or six of us this particular spring day when we started across.

Having swum almost to the opposite shore, one boy started yelling for help. In my memory I can still see him going under, resurfacing, yelling frantically, and then going down again. How many times I watched this horrible scene repeated before me, I can’t be recall. Fortunately, I do remember that on his last descent his feet touched the bottom, and he was able to keep his head above the waterline.

My group wasn’t experienced or maybe smart enough not to try that trip in reverse. After some communication with the least proficient among us, we swam back to where we’d started this adventure in the first place.  The day wasn’t without excitement and did end well for all involved.

It just goes to prove that youth just doesn’t have the proper experience and information to escape danger.

2 Timothy 2:22 

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Life is made up of decisions.  The need for careful consideration of what’s before you and proper information is critical.

Think about it.

Gary

My brother is eleven years older than I but always had me under his wing. When I was fighting with another brother, all I had to do was make it to him and the problem was resolved.  He was a soldier in Okinawa and then Vietnam. Every correspondence contained some money or a jacket that said Airborne on it. He sold me our first car for a ridiculously low price and then was my instructor during my first trip loaded with logs going to Canada. Many times I would be in some mess with that truck, and he always seemed to be there to bail me out. We trucked together for a few years and his policy was to be first on the job and last to leave.

He challenged me to a game of golf a few years back during which time I used his clubs because we both swing left-handed. I almost hit the person in front of us with the ball on two occasions. I have to say it was the first time he let me down because it was according to his instructions that I shot with people in front of us. I was expecting a confrontation with these players; however, they knew him and that made all the difference. Saved again!

He has been retired from the guards and other retirements along the way but can’t seem to let go of work. Like the energizer bunny he keeps going, for at seventy-nine-years old, he drives a transport bus in the city.

Hebrews 13:1

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.

Sometimes we can’t live with our siblings, but we certainly can’t live without them.

Think about it.

Gary

I was walking along with Dad sometime during the late 1950s and a question came to my mind. I asked, “Dad, why does a female dog need a male dog to have pups?” He immediately went into a long drawn out explanation about this phenomenon.  After listening to him for some time, I figured that he didn’t know either.

Some information about life is for the present and some is for later. That is also true in the Word of God:

John 12:16

His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.

My personal belief is that much of the Book of Revelation is to be understood at a future time. We can appreciate most of it now; however, speculation about the rest is like Dad explaining reproduction to an eight-year-old.

Give it some thought.

Gary

How much do I owe? Every time we purchase a house, vehicle or some other item of significance, debt can be a consideration.  Today, most of us purchase almost everything with a credit card. I haven’t carried change around with me for years.  My hamburger and fries are acquired with plastic.

However, have you ever considered how much we owe others, namely, those who have invested in us to make us what we are today?

Here is a list of Bible verses on the subject:

Philemon 1:19

I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides.

Romans 13:7

Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Many young men and women joined the armed services because they believed they owed their country something. Many people stayed in a difficult marriage because they believed they owed that to their children. Many children cared for their elderly parents because they felt indebted to them.

Do you have any debts that need attention?

Think about it.

Gary

In high school I played baseball as a first baseman. The left-handed batter was up and the pitcher was ready to deliver the pitch. Taking the right stance, but with my mind somewhere else, I heard the crack of the bat and something hit my mitt. Quickly examining my glove, I was astonished to find the baseball snuggled in its folds. Two steps to the bag and the runner was out.

Pretty proud of myself, I threw the ball back to the pitcher. Someone shouted, “Great catch.” I acknowledged that with a nod, all the time knowing Jupiter had to have been aligned with Mars.

That same principle is found in Scripture:

1 Kings 22:34

But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”

This soldier wasn’t expecting to hit anything, but that arrow had the king’s name on it.

It’s a God thing.

Think about it.

Gary

A flaw in someone’s character is an undesirable quality that he or she has. Unfortunately, for all of us on this planet this is a reality we face, and it can be a nuisance. Some of us have more flaws than others, but all of us have flaws.

One of the defects of the apostle Peter was kowtowing to peer pressure. The apostle Paul had to confront him about this serious matter in Galatians.

Galatians 2:11-13

Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.  And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy and prejudice have to be dealt with if the church is to attain all the blessings that God has in store for it. In all of our lives, self-examination must take place, confession has to be made, and change has to be instituted.

Think about it.

Gary

If they had a social gospel in the days of the prodigal son, somebody would have given him a bed and a sandwich and he never would have gone home.

• Vance Havner

The meaning of Vance Havner’s statement was that tragedy led the prodigal to repentance and ultimately back to the father’s house. Those difficulties in life cause us to depend on God alone.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime

Author unknown

God gave a principle of how to help those less fortunate and allow them to keep their dignity:

Leviticus 19:9

‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.

The Bible has some great principles because the Author is the One who put us together.

Think about it

Gary