A guy wants a divorce. He tells the judge, “I can’t take it anymore. She’s out going from bar to bar every night way past midnight.”

The judge responds, “What’s she doing?”

The guy says, “Looking for me.”

It is so easy to see faults in others while being blind to our own defects. We could not possibly be the one at fault. Does the Bible address it? Glad you asked.

Romans 2:1 

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

1 Corinthians 6:7 

To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?

Stop running from your wrongs. Give it some thought.

Gary

After General Stonewall Jackson told his engineers to plan and build a bridge so the army could cross the river, he called his wagon master in to tell him that it was urgent that the wagon train cross the river as soon as possible. The wagon master started gathering all the logs, rocks and fence rails he could find and built a bridge. Long before daylight, General Jackson was told by his wagon master all the wagons and artillery had crossed the river. General Jackson asked, “Where are the engineers and what are they doing?” The wagon master’s only reply was that they were in their tent drawing up plans for a bridge.

I like people who can get the job done in spite of those hindering them, some out of their own camp. People like that don’t blame others because they are too busy working for the good.

Colossians 3:23-24

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Get out there and go to work. Regardless of what others beside you might be doing. Give it some thought.

Gary

Use what talents you possess: The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best. 

–       Henry Van Dyke

I can’t sing or play a musical instrument. Investing does not interest me in the least, and if I had, I’d probably have lost the little I have. You won’t see me in an ironman contest or playing chess with some Russian. However, producing devotionals that people appreciate seems to be a gift from heaven and I’m content with that. How about you? What are you doing with what you’ve been given?

Galatians 6:10 

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Ephesians 4:12 

To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 

Give it some thought.

Gary

Maria Fedorovna, the empress of Russia and wife of Czar Alexander III, was known for her philanthropy. She once saved a prisoner from exile in Siberia by transposing a single comma in a warrant signed by Alexander. The czar had written: “Pardon impossible, to be sent to Siberia.” After Maria’s intervention, the note read: “Pardon, impossible to be sent to Siberia.” The prisoner was eventually released.

Little things can make a big difference when placed in the correct spot. Does God consider that? Glad you asked.

Matthew 5:18

 For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Jots and tittles have to do with letters and pen strokes in Hebrew writing. They are small but necessary.

You might be a jot or a tittle, but you could make all the difference in the world in which you live.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Life is a continuous process of getting used to things we hadn’t expected. It’s a good thing that a baby has no memory of coming into the world. How could that child describe it? The light at the end of the tunnel, those creatures, the cold, and that slap for reasons unknown. No doubt if he could say something, it would be, “Take me back where I came from. Then again, where did I come from.”

I’m seventy-one and I tell you I’m still experiencing the unexpected and it still shocks me. What does the Bible have to say of this phenomenon? Glad you asked.

James 4:13-14

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.

Because of this certainty, please don’t journey into tomorrow alone, without the One who framed you.

Give it some thought.

Gary

The voices of those teachers in my grammar school years still ring in my ears. “Gary, follow the instructions.  Gary, why didn’t you follow the instructions?” They didn’t realize I had a bad case of attention deficit disorder. It wasn’t quite bad enough to get social security benefits, but still it plagued me.

Now I pastor a church and have to swallow my medication because the Lord says the same thing as my educators used to say. Nothing has changed.

2 Tim 3:16-17

 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Snap out of it. Pay attention and give it some thought.

Gary

NASA held a briefing to reveal the rocks returned by the OSIRIS-REx asteroid mission. The asteroid material was delivered to Earth in late September in a space capsule that landed in Utah. The hope was that scientists could discover where life came from. After spending billions of dollars, they are no closer to the answers.

I am so glad that we have the record of the beginning of life and the conclusion of life on this planet.

Genesis 1:1-2 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Colossians 1:16 

For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him.

If you are looking to the rocks for the answers to life, check to see if you have a heart of stone. His great love for us should move us.

Give it some thought.

Gary