When I was a paramedic, there were occasions when I would have to start an IV on little old French ladies. They would be uncomfortable with me because they were ashamed of their limited English or, maybe, they thought I was a dumb Englishman. In any case, to break the ice I would tell them I took a French course and learned one sentence. That would get their curiosity up and usually they would want to know the sentence I acquired in their language. Then I would say, ”Je t’aime avec tout mon coeur.” After that, they didn’t care how many times it took to get the IV started.

I always prayed for a key to get the job done. I see in the Scriptures Paul also needed a key. Sometimes it was the local synagogue, a prayer meeting by the river, an earthquake, imprisonment, or a ship about to go down. Every one of the aforementioned locations or situations was a key to a clear presentation of the gospel.

Acts 13:13-16

 Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.  After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.”  So Paul stood up,

If you leave home without your keys, look to God to provide them.

Give it some thought.

Gary

People used to blush when they were ashamed. Now they are ashamed if they blush. Modesty has disappeared and a brazen generation with no fear of God before its eyes mocks at sin. We are so fond of being called tolerant and broadminded that we wink at sin when we ought to weep.
                                   ― Vance Havner

Our world has become consumed by evil. Surprisingly, that evil is now supported and encouraged by the government. Our moral environment has certainly deteriorated in the past few years at an alarming rate. However, the commands for Christians remain the same.

1 Corinthians 15:33 

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals. 

Isaiah 5:20 

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Judges 17:6 

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

 Give it some thought.

Gary

In the cartoon “Peanuts” we see Lucy behind her desk. The sign over her head says, psychiatric help 5 cents. The sign below her desk says, the doctor is in. This young girl with an oversized imagination is waiting for a consumer of her advice to present himself. In the course of the cartoon’s run, enumerable souls seek her advice.

It always amazes me how many believe they can understand and solve other people’s problems when, in reality, they can’t solve their own. Do you want the best in counseling? Here it is:

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.

1 Peter 5:7 

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Those are poor individuals who relied on the experience of Lucy’s couch.

Give it some thought.

Gary

One reporter talked to Ellis Vincent, a 76-year-old retired airline executive from Australia, who was on a cruise with his wife. When asked how they were spending their time in the tiny stateroom on the ship, Mr. Vincent made this comment about his wife:

“She has an excellent memory. She is able to bring up every transgression I’ve ever had. I believe she is not finished.”

Poor Ellis. I think he was in for a long cruise. His wife didn’t know about forgiveness and forgetting the past.

Ephesians 4:32 

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Philippians 3:13

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,

Give it some thought.

Gary

When 16-year-old Eliza married the 20-year old tailor, he had never been to school. Others might have written his education off as a lost cause, but Eliza didn’t. She taught him to read, write, and spell. Those days were difficult, but he proved to be a fast learner. In fact, he learned so well that years later he was elected president of the United States! When he ran for a second term, he lost, but refused to give up. Instead, he won a seat in the U.S. Senate. Who? He was our 17th president, Andrew Johnson.

We made it through life because there were others who believed that with a little help we could do better. This was a discussion that I had on more than one occasion with my high school principal. He helped me, and along the way, there were others, more than I can count. I am certainly not a self-made man. My greatest investor was God Himself.

Philippians 2:4 

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Galatians 6:2 

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Give it some thought and invest in others.

Gary

Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you; they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc.

Somebody is talking . . . Your “self” is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this “self” to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you.”

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression, Zondervan.

Romans 10:17

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Proverbs 25:28 

A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.

Give it some thought and give yourself a good talking to.

Gary

We Americans sure have a taste for French fries. Do you know that the average American eats 25 pounds of French fries every year? McDonald’s alone sells 9,000,000 pounds of fries globally every day. To keep up, its US supplier uses a massive fry-cutting machine that shoots potatoes through at 60 to 70 mph, 24 hours a day.

It’s just too bad we don’t have such a taste for the Word of God:

Psalm 34:8

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Hebrews 6:5

and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

May you have a taste for truth.

Give it some thought.

Gary