My grandfather guided many down the Allagash river in the early 1900s. Legend has it that he would carve rocks to make them look like an arrowhead and hide them in plain sight in some of the campgrounds he stopped at with those sports.  He’d already told these people of the Indians traveling this same course hundreds of years before which would enthrall his listeners.  As they set up camp, he would suddenly exclaim, “Would you look at that?” as he ‘discovered’ one of those arrowheads.  They never knew the difference, had a good time and took home memorabilia. I think my grandfather smiled all the way home until he placed the money he’d made into grandmother’s hand.

Deception, I didn’t get it from my grandfather. It’s just in all of us from birth and needs control.

Does the Bible address this? Glad you asked.

Colossians 3:9 

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.

2 Corinthians 11:3 

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

It is a humorous story and he shouldn’t have done that, but because he did, I have a devotional for today. Give it some thought.

Gary

How could a young boy like David slay a warring giant like Goliath? Let me give you three reasons. One, even as a youth, he believed wholeheartedly in the living God. Second, a great number of his days were spent in practicing with an ancient weapon that had proven itself effective. Third, there had to be a divinely appointed scene set up on the stage of life whereby those things would be enacted.

What am I saying?  God does His part and we must be prepared to do ours.

Proverbs 24:27 

Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.

Luke 21:36 

But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Give it some consideration and always be prepared to meet a giant.

Gary

I don’t know where I read it, but here it is, “You will burn up your youth.” The smoke is thick as I consider the youths of my day and those who are young at the present time. They think the fire will last forever, but they are sadly mistaken. The ashes of a wasted life hurt all who knew and loved that person.

Does the Bible address it? Glad you asked.

Psalm 25:7

“Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of Your goodness, O Lord!” 

Ecclesiastes 12:1 

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them.”

The Lord has more to offer us than a burnt-up life. Give it some thought.

Gary

Headed to a funeral of some old Gardner, I was with my brother who was the oldest of four boys and eleven years older than I.  I muttered, “Look there is something I need to tell you before you die.”

He wasn’t planning on dying just yet, but asked, “What?”

I added, “I want you to know that you’ve been a good brother.”

Choking on that one, he replied, “Oh, you fellows weren’t so bad.”

It wasn’t memory loss; it was a coverup.

So my response was, “Yes, we were bad.” I think my other brother and I were tied for first place in bad.

Ecclesiastes 11:9 

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

Let’s set the record straight. Youth holds a lack of consideration for others and an inability to recognize the import of those who matter. This just needs to be said. Give it some consideration.

Gary

I have received memos so swollen with managerial babble that they struck me as the literary equivalent of assault with a deadly weapon.

–       Peter Baida, Management Babble, American Heritage, April 1985.

Sounds like a lot of preaching which leaves one with the following questions: Where are they coming from? How did they get here? Where are they going? Do they think I am going with them?

Like the account in Genesis 4 there are only two religions. One points to a blood sacrifice and the other to man’s imagination. So it is today. God only accepts the first. Which one are you embracing? Give it some consideration.

Ephesians 2:8-9 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Acts 4:12 

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Gary

Twenty centuries ago, the Spirit of God gave this prophecy to the prophet Isaiah and he gave it to the children of Israel. They didn’t improve their future much because of unbelief in the Word that Isaiah received and shared.

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a Child is born,
to us a Son is given,
and the government will be on His shoulders.
And He will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

We’re down the road twenty-seven hundred years later, and I wonder how many in our day have embraced this prophecy. Human nature hasn’t changed much. You can have religion, but do you have a relationship with God? Have you been born into His family?  Give it some thought.

Gary

The following has been said:

“When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.”

“When you come to a dead end, don’t cry because it’s time for you to take another direction.”

“When Plan A does not work, fall back on Plan B.”

“When Plan A does not work… …keep calm, take a deep breath, and remember: the alphabet, for sure, has one or the other letter left for you.”

“When there are bumps on the road, we hang in tightly but keep on driving.”

“Keep calm and plan on.”

“If life throws you a few bad notes, don’t let them interrupt your song.”

Let me add a critical element to the previous statements. This comes from the Creator of all things.

Philippians 4:6 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Prayer is the key to making any of the aforementioned statements workable. Give it some thought.

Gary