I’ve learned – that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it. – Unknown author
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Timothy, the pastor of the church in Ephesus, hit that one on the head. Be careful of your next step and ask Him to be your guide.
Give it some thought.
Gary
July 15 (UPI) — Residents of a Massachusetts city are being asked to keep an eye out for a ball python that has been caught on camera slithering on the loose in the area.
That article made me appreciate northern Maine. However, there is a snake I’m on the lookout for and he is found in Scripture.
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Be on the lookout for him because he’s not far away. Give it some thought.
Gary
How many times have you heard the statement, “Part of me just can’t let go.”? Truth is we are made up of many parts. We are body, soul and spirit. Then for believers, we have the old nature and the new nature that are at war with each other. The question has to be, which part are we having trouble with? God sent His Holy Spirit to give us a handle on this very human problem.
Do not quench the Spirit.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
The Spirit of God knows best. Let Him have His way. For Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Give it some thought today.
Gary
“What is hardest to accept about the passage of time is that the people who once mattered the most to us wind up in parentheses.”
— John Irving, “The Cider House Rules”
Yes, they are gone now, dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Something of value was lost that can never be replaced. How many actors on this stage of life have played in parts along side of me or you? Now they are gone and even their memory is getting clouded. Where does this repeated event in our lives come from? The answer is only found in Scripture.
For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
The reality is that because of sin all die. Give it some careful consideration.
Gary
The article stated that butter kills. (Tried to do something about that situation.) Then an article came out that stated that margarine kills. They said that eggs were bad for you, and then they said eggs were good for you. Who knows what they’ll say next?
I have seventy-three years of improper eating habits and nothing has killed me yet. Probably when you read this, I’ll be dead and some will say, “I told him not to eat like that.” Someone could have the scientific community examine my decaying body for the cause of death. Whatever that proves, I say, “Don’t cry, because I’ll be in the best shape since I came into existence.”
Matthew 10:28
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
If God didn’t want us to have bacon and eggs, pigs and chickens would never have been created. Remember, He told Peter, “Kill and eat.” I do, however, want to acknowledge that some of us need special diets, but always remember who is in charge of death.
Gary
I’ve heard this so many times after someone’s death, “God must have needed another angel.” That’s like saying you can make a ’51 Studebaker out of a monkey. You see, angels are angels and humans are humans. God made both. However, if you don’t know Scripture, you might embrace something fanciful.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of Truth.
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the Word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Don’t swallow poison Kool-Aid. Give it some thought.
Gary
“Rhinestone Cowboy” by Glen Campbell tells the story of an aspiring country singer’s journey to make it big. One-line states, “There is a lot of compromising on the road to my horizon.”
Most people don’t understand that, down the road, the cost of compromising comes due. Does the Bible teach that? Glad you asked.
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
Be careful on the road to your horizon. Don’t let compromising catch up to you. Give it some thought.
Gary