Have you ever had your soul pierced? Just asking. Mary had that experience in her life on this planet.

Luke 2:35

(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

The piercing she endured was the horror of the events surrounding the crucifixion. After all, she mothered the One going through that agony for the sins of the world.

Have you ever been pierced for your part in God’s plan of salvation? It’s a terrible affliction, but well worth it, for the eternal reward awaiting you.

Most don’t want this experience and because of that they are fruitless.

No, this piercing is not a rose on your calf or a butterfly on your shoulder. It’s much deeper than that.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends.

–       George Muller.

I’ve had the great pleasure of seeing that worked out in the lives of many a missionary. They left their educational experience behind, abandoned much of this world’s goods and burnt up their lives on a foreign field of Divine service. They just believed the great commission was a calling on their lives and God would provide.  And you know what?  That’s exactly what happened.

Philippians 4:19 

And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 9:8 

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in all things, you may abound in every good work.

Don’t be afraid to trust God if He’s calling. Give it some consideration.

Gary

Tourist dies at luxury resort after cobra from show climbs up pants, bites him: police

That was a headline and it wasn’t funny. It just goes to show you can never tell when a serpent is on its way in a location near you. Case in point is the old serpent that presented himself to Eve in the garden. We still suffer the effects of that bite. Let me share a warning:

2 Corinthians 11:3

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:9

nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;

Revelation 20:2

He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

That last one was good but continue to be aware of what might crawl up your leg. Give it some consideration.

Gary

It is rather comical when the primary things are made secondary. Victor Borge told about a couple going on vacation, standing in line waiting to check their bags at the airline counter. 

The husband said to the wife, “I wish we had brought the piano.”

The wife said, “Why? We’ve got sixteen bags already!” 

The husband said, “Yes, I know– but the tickets are on the piano!”

How are you doing in the realm of leaving things behind?

Matthew 23:23

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

Leave the piano; just remember the tickets. Give it some thought.

Gary

Feelings come and feelings go and feelings are deceiving;
My warrant is the Word of God, naught else is worth believing.

–       Attributed to Martin Luther

Fake news, cults, politicians and preachers all attempt to place a virus in our heart. Stay away from such dangerous cures for contemporary maladies. Turn to the time-proven ancient Word of God. It has the cure and can stand alone.

Hebrews 4:12 

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Psalm 119:105 

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Give it some meditation.

Gary

Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith and then works; and then faith again, and then works again — until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other.

–       William Booth

I think Billy had that one nailed. Does the Scripture address this fact? Glad you asked.

James 1:22-25

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

Like the song says, “These Boots Were Made for Walking.” Start walking in line with the conclusion the Word leads us to. Give it some thought.

Gary

 I’ve just been very lucky. But I’ve worked hard, and the harder you work, the luckier you seem to get.

–       Norman Wisdom

Does the Bible address this phenomenon? Glad you asked.

Colossians 3:23 

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

Genesis 2:15 

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

God created us to work and to keep His creation. Go out there and get to work. Give it some consideration.

Gary