It happened in Florida in 1997. Three young people had pulled a stop sign out of the ground and left the scene. Sometime later, three individuals were killed in an accident attributed to that act of vandalism. All three vandals were convicted by a jury and received life sentences. However, because of extenuating circumstances, they only spent five years behind bars.

The lesson is don’t mess with signs because it can cost you dearly.

Hebrews 2:1-4

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.

Don’t mess with the signs and wonders proclaimed in the Word because eternity is at stake. Give it some thought.

Gary

The Serenity Prayer goes like this: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

A version of the prayer was originally composed by Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in the early 1930s. Since that time, it has been used by multiple sources and some have made money off of it. We are not to pray repetitiously. However, this prayer gives the believer a good course to direct one’s life.

Psalm 29:11

The Lord will give strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.

Psalm 46:10

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

Look to Him as you make the many decisions you are confronted with in life.

Give it some thought.

Gary

A pillar in construction is a tall, vertical structure of stone, wood, or metal, used as a support for a building. In personal terms, it means a person or thing regarded as reliably providing essential support for something.

America has pillars starting with the midnight ride of Paul Revere. The church in America was strong because of those who left Europe, seeking religious freedom. Only God can make a pillar. Do you care to be one, holding the gospel banner high while supporting the gospel and those who strive to do so?

Revelation 3:12

He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

Give it some thought. Carry your load and bear your burden.

Gary

Frances Ridely Havergal (1836-1879) has provided us with one of the classic hymns of Christian commitment. Known as the “consecration poet,” Havergal attempted to live a life fully consecrated to Christ and to those she saw in any physical or spiritual need.

Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Hebrews 13:15 

Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.

God put us here on the planet. Are we thankful? Do we consider Him? Are we accountable? What are we leaving behind? These are questions that demand an answer.

Give it some thought because Frances sure did.

Gary

I don’t know how many of you are exhausted from the struggles of life.  I do want you to know that the day is coming when a rest is in order that can’t be compared to any experience here on earth.

Revelation 14:13

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”

It’s labor here, but it is rest there. Looking forward to it. Give it some thought.

Gary

Can you see a candle light at 15 to 30 miles? Glad you asked.

If it’s a very dark night and under perfect conditions, the human retina is capable of detecting single photons – although it doesn’t report the fact to the brain until about 6 to 8 photons have been detected over a short time. By the way, to us humans photons represent light.

Did you see Christ from a distance?

John 8:12

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

I remember when I saw Him from a great distance. However, now He is much closer.

Give it some consideration.

Gary

I was a seventeen-year-old traveling on a slippery road with my brother’s car. Suddenly, it seemed the car refused to respond to my control, left the road, went through the snowbank, and came to a stop. It just happened that a trucker came along, and with a chain, pulled the Bel Air back onto the highway. Now this trucker couldn’t wait to tell my brother what I had done. At that time, I wasn’t a believer.  Years later when I was in a position to help that trucker, I didn’t.  He just reaped what he had sown.

Galatians 6:7 

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

2 Corinthians 9:6 

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Don’t be like that driver, some things should just be kept to yourself.

Give it some thought.

Gary