We have a ministry to the nursing home, and it is a real blessing for us. Some residents are younger than we are which makes me try to keep the keypad number memorized. I do that just in case one of the CNA’s says, “No, Mr. Gardner, this is your home now.”  I have my escape preplanned.

The future is uncertain, but some decisions can be made by carefully observing those around us and those who have gone before. There are certain ruts in our world that can’t be avoided, and when in one, don’t be disappointed, but make the best of it.

Psalm 46:1

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.”

Yes, earthquakes come and mountains do crumble into the sea eventually. Don’t live in denial, but be prepared.

Think about it.

Gary

I’m just reflecting on yesterday’s post on bacon and avocado. I discovered that like politics there are many opinions on the subject. I’ve heard from some who attend bacon anonymous. They might attend those meetings and claim they are bacon free, but my post led them to confess. They are not what they testify to be at the meetings. They profess to be avocado eaters, but the smell of bacon on their clothes tells a different story.

My advice is don’t attend those meetings unless you can stand and state that you have been bacon-free for over a year. I’m not saying give up like I did, but like the Apostle Paul, keep at it even though you have a way to go.

Philippians 3:12

 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

Some of you guilty-bacon-fanatics will someday experience victory, so don’t quit.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Avocado is rich in healthy mono-unsaturated fatty acids. Avocado helps lower your levels of LDL, “bad” cholesterol. The American Heart Association approves of one a day. Bacon pieces are crispy cholesterol bombs. They are high in unhealthy saturated fat and should be treated as an occasional indulgence, not a daily staple.

I love bacon and would only eat an avocado if a gun was pressed to my temple with a larger caliber than a 22. Don’t be offended, but give me a shorter lifespan during which I can exclude avocado and include more bacon.

What’s the point? It is the Apostle Paul struggling with the thing that plagues every Christian who is honest with himself:

Romans 7:19

For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

I know; I know. He’s not talking about bacon because as a Pharisee he would never have tasted bacon. However, if he had, it would have included a battle with bacon.

The apostle is discussing the difficult time that everyone of us has with doing the right thing.

How about you? Still struggling between avocado or bacon?

Give it some thought.

Gary

Acey-deucey is a poker game I played in my youth. Every player was given two cards by the dealer that were placed faceup.  There was a pot of money in the center of the table and every player could bet what he wanted against the pot. If you had an ace in front of you and a three the chance that the dealer would turn up a card between these two was pretty good. If that happened, you won the bet.  You won whatever bet you placed against the pot or if you bet high enough, even the pot itself. However, if an ace, duce or three was turned up, you lost the bet and had to pay the pot.

Gambling was a lot of fun and exciting, but losing was depressing. However, for the thrill, we kept returning to the game week after week.

Do you know there are individuals who never touched cards, but yet gamble every day? They gamble that God will accept them the way they are. They gamble that because they are better than most people God will accept them. These people are in for a shock when the game of life is over.

Titus 3:5 

not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

The sad part of all of this is it’s your last game.

Give it some thought.

Gary

“It’s a very strange world, Master Jack,” that stanza was contained in a song that hit the charts in 1968. I heard that song hundreds of times. I was somewhere between sixteen and eighteen, and I totally believed it was a strange world, so I could identify with the words.

Can you imagine coming through the birth canal and viewing this environment for the first time. No wonder you cry even before the doctor slaps you. If the doctor slaps you, it confirms this is a strange place.

Hebrews 11:13 

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

John 17:16 

They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 

We’re here and it can be very uncomfortable at times. Hang on, because in no time, we’ll be enjoying the comforts of home.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Christians don’t go through life totally insulated from life’s trials and temptations. The only perfect human being was Jesus Christ. The rest of us carry blemishes and regrets.  I like the way Andre Crouche expressed it in his song, “Through It All,” so many years ago.

I’ve had many tears and sorrows,
I’ve had questions for tomorrow,
There’ve been times I didn’t know right from wrong.
But in every situation,
God gave blessed consolation,
That my trials come to only make me strong.

Through it all,
Through it all,
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus,
I’ve learned to trust in God.

Life is full of lessons that can only be taught one way. We have to recognize the Master-Instructor knows us better than we know ourselves and can be trusted to do the right thing. After lessons from God as to how one is made for the job, Jeremiah comes to a proper conclusion.

Jeremiah 1:18

For behold, I have made you this day
A fortified city and an iron pillar,
And bronze walls against the whole land—
Against the kings of Judah,
Against its princes,
Against its priests,
And against the people of the land.

Jeremiah 10:23

O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

As Christians we need to recognize our God has placed us here for a purpose and is in the process of perfecting us for what is ahead.

Think about it.

Gary

There is a book in the Old Testament that makes for very interesting reading. It is about a Moabite woman who didn’t stand a chance in life, but ended up as an individual in the lineage of Christ. The only way that can be explained is by the grace of God.

How do sinners like us find ourselves in the family of God? The answer to that is just what we find in the short book of Ruth. Our circumstances and hers needed an alignment of so many variables that only the hand of God could bring it to the proper conclusion. Many a strange situation that leads to such a great salvation can be found in the Word. How can we ever completely understand the Creator of the universe?

Take a look at what the Prophet Isaiah recorded:

Isaiah 40:13-15

 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,

Or as His counselor has taught Him?
With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?

 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.

No, it can’t be fathomed, but His work certainly needs to be appreciated.

Give it some thought.

Gary