Someone once asked Paul Harvey, the journalist and radio commentator, to reveal the secret of his success. “I get up when I fall down,” said Harvey. 

–       Bits & Pieces, March 3, 1994, p. 16.

Isaiah 43:18-19 

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Galatians 5:1 

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

It’s never too late to start over. The new birth is the greatest example of this truth.

Give it some thought.

Gary

I want the whole Christ for my Savior, the whole Bible for my book, the whole Church for my fellowship, and the whole world for my mission field. 

– John Wesley

The Apostle Paul felt the same way as Wesley. Do you?

Acts 20:28 

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood.

Ephesians 2:20-22 

Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Give it some consideration.

Gary

If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.

Shocking statement, yet many have trouble explaining the simplicity of the Gospel.

2 Corinthians 1:12 

For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.

Psalm 116:6 

The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, He saved me.

We’re sinners who needed a Savior. Our Lord laid down His life to the end. What part of that could we not understand or explain to others?

Give it some thought and don’t complicate it.

Gary

If everywhere you go, there is a problem, then guess what?

Titus 3:10 

As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him,

Proverbs 22:24

Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man.

If you find yourself identifying with the wrathful man, remember the One who can break that bondage to anger you find yourself in.  Give it some thought.

Gary

Early in my career as a doctor I went to see a patient who was coming out of anesthesia. Far off, church chimes sounded.

“I must be in heaven,” the woman murmured. Then she saw me. “No, I can’t be,” she said. “There’s Dr. Campbell.” 

–       Lenore Campbell, M.D., in Medical Economics.

Sometimes we can get it wrong. Paul addresses this pervasive problem in Titus.

Titus 1:16

They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

Give it some thought.

Gary

John Newton wrote in the song “Amazing Grace,” about life’s trials, “Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come.”  That’s about right for most of us who have traveled this planet for several decades. No one is exempt from those three demons.

 The Apostle Paul spoke of his trials in the following:

2 Corinthians 11:24-31

From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; ²⁶ in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; ²⁷ in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— ²⁸ besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

³⁰ If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. ³¹ The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

We find the Lord addressing Ananias’s concerns about an encounter with Paul in Acts 9:15-16 “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. ¹⁶ For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

You might not be an apostle, but as a Christian in His service, you will get acquainted with hardships also. Claim what John Newton points out for those of us who’ve recognized, as he did, that we are wretches in need of saving grace and keeping grace. Along with him, let us sing, “It is grace that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home.”

Give it some thought.

Gary

To Tell the Truth was an American television panel show in which four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants, all claiming to be the subject of a story read aloud by the host. Each one would give the same name and the members of the panel would ask questions to discover which one was truly who he claimed to be.

The same event happens today in relation to Jesus, The Holy Spirit and the Gospel.

Galatians 1:8-9

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. ⁹ As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

Would the real Jesus, Spirit, or Gospel, please stand up?

Give it some consideration.

Gary