A group called A Point of Grace did this song in 2010.

“A Good Place to Turn Around”

Devil’s highway he’s right beside me,
Whispering in my ear.
He drew the map and set the trap,
But I’m the one that got me here,
Made a mess of my whole life,
Burned every bridge I crossed.
Am I too far gone? Which way is home?
How did I get so lost?

I’m looking for a good place to turn around
And get off this road that I’m headed down.
I’ve gotta find some peace of mind.
Lord, send a sign somehow.
I just need a good place to turn around.

The Bible answers that terrible situation experienced by so many on our planet.

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

2 Timothy 2:25

in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,

Romans 2:4

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

Get off that road. Turn around and face God.

Give it some thought.

Gary

A few years ago I was captivated by a book title and ordered the book.  It was called, The Contagious Congregation by George Hunter.  I wanted to be a part of that kind of church that was so infected with the love of God in Jesus Christ that we would be contagious and others would catch what we have.  I looked forward with anticipation to reading the book.  Ironically, when the package arrived, I opened it quickly, only to discover a mistake.  The bookstore did not send the book The Contagious Congregation; they sent a book titled, The Contentious Congregation!  What is on the book cover of our lives: CONTAGIOUS or CONTENTIOUS?

Ronald J. Hipwell, Westmont United Methodist Church, Johnstown, Pennsylvania July 98

The Bible says a lot about that particular malady infecting the churches:

2 Corinthians 12:20

For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults;

Proverbs 18:19

A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle.

Like Barney Fife would say, “We need to nip this in the bud.”

Give it some thought.

Gary

“You’re So Vain” is a song written in 1971 by American singer and songwriter Carly Simon. Unfortunately, the song was popular because many of that generation thought it referred to us or someone we knew. Here is a stanza. (I’ve given you the meaning of a word I was unfamiliar with.)

You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror, as you watched yourself gavotte (a medium-paced French dance, popular in the 18th century)

And all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner
They’d be your partner and

You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you

Over 3000 years before the ink was dried on this song, Solomon had something to say about the subject of vanity:

Ecclesiastes 1:14

I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 11:10

Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

How do you measure the amount of vanity in your life? Let the spirit of the book of Ecclesiastics scan it. You’ll see the results.

Think about it.

Gary

Fred and Bill were having their weekly round of golf at the Land o’ Sky Golf Course.  As they were walking down the fairway on the long par-five number six hole, a funeral procession drove by them along River Road. Fred paused and took off his golf hat, held it over his heart and stood motionless, watching the cars drive slowly by with their lights on. Bill was touched. He didn’t know Fred was so religious or sensitive. He walked up to him and said, “That was a nice thing to do, Fred. Was that somebody you knew?”

“Yes,” Fred said, wiping away a tear as he pulled a four wood from his bag, “she was my wife. We would have been married twenty-eight years today, if she’d have lived.”

The obvious conclusion is this: Here’s a man who loved his sport much more than he loved his wife. The thing that really had his affection and time was the golf course, and not his family. It really isn’t funny, is it?

Let’s think of this in spiritual terms. How many of life’s activities come before God in your life? Could it be that idolatry has you by the throat? The Apostle Peter sent this warning out to all the early churches:

1 Peter 4:3

For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the Gentiles choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry.

Psalm 106:3

Blessed are those who keep justice,
And he who does righteousness at all times!

Prioritize your life by putting the things of God first.

Think about it.

Gary

You don’t consider this in your youth, but you should. The subject is death and the situation that is to follow that event. Some place their hope in annihilation, while others believe themselves good enough to enter a glorious place. Still others believe there is a place of punishment, but after a time, they will be set free. Then there are those who trust completely in the finished work of Christ on Calvary. With this last group of individuals, they have the right to sing:

We are all traveling in the footsteps

Of those that’d come before

And we’ll all be reunited

On that new and sunlit shore

Just a few more days to travel,

Just a few more days to roam,

Then I will enter heaven’s portals,

When the saints are gathered home.

Matthew 25:21

 His Lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.

As bad as it might get here, we have a future.

Give it some thought.

Gary

CBS News anchor Dan Rather admits he was always fascinated by the sport of boxing, even though he was never good at it. “In boxing you’re on your own; there’s no place to hide,” he says. “At the end of the match only one boxer has his hand up. That’s it. He has no one to credit or to blame except himself.” Rather, who boxed in high school, says his coach’s greatest goal was to teach his boxers that they absolutely, positively, without question, had to be “get up” fighters. “If you’re in a ring just once in your life–completely on your own–and you get knocked down, but you get back up again, it’s a never-to-be-forgotten experience. Your sense of achievement is distinct and unique. And sometimes the only thing making you get up is someone in your corner yelling.” 

–       Reader’s Digest, December, 1990.

The Apostle Paul used many sports illustrations. It is highly possible that he attended some of the games. Here are a few examples for your consideration:

1 Corinthians 9:26

Therefore, I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.

2 Timothy 4:7

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Ephesians 6:12

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

1 Corinthians 9:24

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

I don’t know about you, but I would rather play in a game than watch it.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Samuel Brengle, who was an early Salvation Army official, was once introduced as the “Great Dr. Brengle.” He later wrote in his diary, “If I appear great in their eyes, the Lord is most graciously helping me to see how absolutely nothing I am without Him, and helping me to keep little in my own eyes.

A man can counterfeit love, he can counterfeit faith, he can counterfeit hope and all the other graces, but it is very difficult to counterfeit humility.

   Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)

Humility is a word that characterized our Lord while he was here on the earth, and it should characterize us.

Rom 12:3

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

   Whales really do communicate with each other. One whale sounded the following caution to his dear mate:

   “Better watch it; when you get to the top and start to blow, that’s when you get harpooned!”

   What’s true at sea is also true in our world.

Think about it.

Gary