I don’t know where Ida came from or why she caused so much destruction from Louisiana to Maine. However, there is one storm that had God’s fingerprints all over it and that’s the one found in the book of Jonah.

Jonah 1:4

Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.

The only person in that storm who wasn’t disturbed was Jonah. Strange isn’t it? However, the results of the storm on the mariners would soon have Jonah in the sea with a totally different demeanor.

Why do storms come into our lives? I certainly don’t have the answers to that, but I do know that God can create a storm for His own purposes.

Give it some thought.

Gary

In the age of prophets, Jonah was chosen to preach to Nineveh. However, even true prophets can be rebellious and attempt their own will instead of God’s will. This is a statement found in:

Jonah 1:3

But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

I get a kick out of the statement, “paid the fare.” Jonah had no idea of the cost of that mistake. Read the account and discover the real cost of rebellion for Jonah.

Here is how God looks at rebellion:

1 Samuel 15:23

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. 

Don’t rebel against God’s word. The price of rebellion is too high.

Think about it.

Gary

Instrumentation on a 727 includes air conditioning, APU, autopilot electrics, fire protection flight controls, fuel system, GPWS, hydraulics,  ice & rain protection, landing gear & brakes, oxygen, pitot static system, pneumatics, power plant, pressurization, windows, and yaw dampers plus many more buttons, switches and gadgets. It takes about eight years of training before someone can get into the pilot’s seat.

The Creator of the universe has given us instructions on this flight through life. We should never leave anything to chance or experimentation.  The manual needs to be studied and implemented.

Let me make it less complicated.

Psalm 25:4

Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.

Now go out there and fly right.

Think about it.

Gary

The hit on the radio in late June of 1967 was “Bottle of Wine”, a song written and recorded by Tom Paxton. One stanza is as follows:

… Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine
When you gonna let me get sober
Leave me along, let me go home
I wanna go back and start over

I don’t know how many people were killed or injured by drunk drivers that year, but I’m sure there were many. The family units destroyed that year are only known by God. The number of promising careers that never made it off the ground was tragic. Also the number of military who received dishonorable discharges because of drunkenness will never be known.

We were young and only saw one side of the issue. Drinking was fun and led to all kinds of excitement.

The Bible does address this phenomenon:

Proverbs 20:1 (NKJV)

Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

Proverbs 20:1(NLT)

Wine makes people act in a foolish way. Strong drink starts fights. Whoever is fooled by it is not wise.

Give it some thought.

Gary

1 Corinthians 4:1-3

Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 

Paul chose the word steward because it referred to a person entrusted with his master’s goods. This individual had to have one quality above all others. Paul’s faithfulness was being questioned. Can you imagine the man God chose to write twelve or thirteen books of the New Testament being questioned? Probably, he was the one who accomplished more for missions than anyone ever born on the planet. His life was not lived for personal pleasure but for service to the King.

America was built by faithful people. They are credited for their faithfulness to their spouses, employers, families, institutions, nation and church. Our generation has been tremendously blessed by those of past generations who exhibited such a quality.

Like the Apostle Paul go out there today and be faithful in spite of what others might say.

Think about it.

Gary

Gipsy Smith told of a man who said he had received no inspiration from the Bible although he had “gone through it several times.”

“Let it go through you once,” replied Smith, “Then you will tell a different story!”

The problem is never the Word of God, but the problem is, many times, the preconceived ideas of the one reading it.

Mark 4:5-6

Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 

The Explanation:

Mark 4:16-17

These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 

Read the Scriptures with anticipation. God’s desire is to communicate with you.

Give it some thought.

Gary

I don’t feel like I need God. I don’t feel like going to church. I don’t feel like praying. Have any of these emotions moved you in the wrong direction?

That’s a difficult concept to understand when it comes to spiritual things. How many mornings of your life did you not feel like going to school? How many times did you not feel like changing the baby’s diaper? How many times did you not feel like going to work?

The word feel is defined as an emotion.  Emotion is not an accurate guide to take us through life. Eve felt eating the fruit was the thing to do. Adam felt that hiding from God was the best course of action under the circumstances. Sarah felt that she needed to help God fulfill His promise by having Abraham impregnate Hagar. Judas felt he should betray Christ and make some profit. How did that work out for them?

Don’t look in the mirror and ask yourself, “What do I feel like doing?” What you should be asking is- What should I be doing because I’m a child of God and my citizenship is in heaven?

Psalm 32:9

Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.

Psalm 119:34

Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

“Hooked on a feeling,” makes for great verbiage in a country and western song but doesn’t cut the mustard in the test tube of life.

Give it some thought.

Gary