Doc said my weight is okay, but I need to put on six more inches of height. I thought that over carefully and then purchased an inverter. It was advertised on TV at 2:30 in the morning. After hours of hanging upside-down, I didn’t gain an inch.

Thinking of my taste for salt and vinegar chips with whole milk, the occasional banana split and french-fries with a quarter pounder, I decided to call it a day and expire fat.

Life is all about decisions. Concentrating on long-term ramifications or short-term goals that can be accomplished give me a migraine.

I’m just going to spend my closing years focusing on spiritual exercise.

1 Timothy 4:8 

For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Git off that couch and grab your Bible.

Give it some thought.

Gary

The 142nd regiment of the United States Army was one of the most decorated of all during World War II. It was made up of Japanese Americans, some of whom were recruited from internment camps where Japanese citizens had been placed after Pearl Harbor. The 142nd served with extraordinary distinction, fighting in Europe. Some of these soldiers helped liberate Dachau, the concentration camp where thousands of Jews had been executed.

These young men went to great lengths to show to our country that they were true Americans.

As Christians, we should spend as much effort proving our citizenship by the way in which we live.

Philippians 3:20 

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 2:19 

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

Give it some thought.

Gary

In our country we have the far left and the far right and never the twain shall meet. Even our news outlets are divided between the left and the right. Where can we get information that is guaranteed to be accurate?

Glad you asked:

 Mark 4:24

And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear:

John 16:13

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

Every time I open the Word, I am assured of handling the truth.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Two worldly friends went to Coney Island. The last “attraction” they visited was a shooting gallery where they had celluloid balls propelled by jets of water. The balls rose and fell, and when they fell, they fell out of sight. The idea was to hit them as you saw them. The first of the two friends shot all the cartridges in his rifle, but didn’t hit one of the balls. Then, the second man picked up a gun, took careful aim, shot once, and all of the balls fell. His incredulous friend said, “Bill, that’s the most wonderful shooting I ever saw in my life! How on earth did you do it?”

Bill replied, “I shot the fellow working the pump!”

Just a made-up story, but it does illustrate getting to the meat of the matter. The source of the problem must be addressed to win.

The devil is behind much of our world’s problems and he must be addressed.

1 Peter 5:8 

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

James 4:7 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

2 Corinthians 11:14 

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Take aim at him because he is taking aim at you.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Christian writer and commentator, Warren Wiersbe, tells about a town where a horse bolted and ran away with a wagon carrying a little boy. Seeing the child in danger, a young man risked his life to catch the horse and stop the wagon. The child who was saved grew up to become a lawless man, and one day he stood before a judge to be sentenced for a serious crime. The prisoner recognized the judge as the man who, years before, had saved his life; so he pled for mercy on the basis of that experience. But the words from the bench silenced his plea: “Young man, then I was your savior; today I am your judge, and I must sentence you to be hanged.”

The Scriptures are clear about the choices we make. We either take him as our Savior or Judge. The choice is ours.

Philippians 2:9-11

Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Adrian Rogers tells about the man who bragged that he had cut off the tail of a man-eating lion with his pocket knife. Asked why he hadn’t cut off the lion’s head, the man replied, “Someone had already done that.”

Sometimes we can tell a good story if we just limit the information a little. The Apostle Paul was not such an individual.

Acts 20:25-27
“And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

Give it some thought and don’t leave anything out.

Gary

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Romans 5:1

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 14:33

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,

Can you say,  “It is well with my soul?”

Give it some thought.

Gary