Too much alcohol can make us act in ways we wouldn’t normally, including making us more angry or aggressive. Experts believe the reason some people can become aggressive when drunk is due to the way alcohol affects the brain.

Many crimes are committed simply because alcohol was involved. On the same vein many sins have been committed which never would have happened without the effects of alcohol.

The Bible illustrates the opposite effects of another influence:

Ephesians 5:18

Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,

The Holy Spirit will influence how you act and react. He will only do you good and never harm. Throughout eternity you will appreciate His being on board.

Give it a shot.

Gary

Toyota sent me a letter informing me of a rust problem that started when my truck came off the assembly line. It’s only eight years old and they tell me it needs attention if it is going to outlive me.

Those shingles on my roof warn me that Maine summers and winters are taking such a toll that replacement is becoming a present reality. If I don’t do something, “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” will be more than a song out of the sixties.

I’ll not mention my medical problems because I shared them all before and ended up in your junk email.

What is my point? “The way of all the earth” is inevitable decay and replacement.

Joshua 23:14

“Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.

Joshua was coming to the end of his run and reflecting on the promises of God.

Think about it.

Gary

We were logging on a mountain and I had rolled a skidder over a few times. This particular event had my chopper witnessing my failure to apply safe operational practices. As I was crawling out, he stood on a ledge above me and said, “Son, that’s not a skidder you’re driving, but a Suzuki. “ He knew what took place on the motocross track should not be seen in logging.

Youth has a way of canceling out fear when it is most necessary. We need to heed the advice of older folks who have been around the block a few times.

This is what David left Solomon:

1 Kings 2:1-3

Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying:  “I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.  And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn;

We ride this wild bull called Living-in-a-Dangerous-Place and should listen to those above us.

That was the last time I rolled a skidder over.

Think about it.

Gary

The story of Annie Johnson Flint is one of tragedy and suffering. We read about such individuals and wonder how they stand up to the onslaught. With Annie, we find the answer in her poetry.

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

The Scripture has many an individual who has suffered in the faith and found God’s grace always sufficient.

1 Peter 1:6-8

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

Give it some thought.

Gary

It is just a verse, but it reflects seventy years on the planet.  This is a journey from the birthing bed to the death bed.  All the twists and turns of life are contained in it. Like the roller-coaster ride, it is both exhilarating and scary at the same time. However, after getting off, you wonder if the time was well-spent for the cost involved.

Acts 13:36

“Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed.

How’s the trip progressing for you? If you are going to make any changes, it had better be quick because from here you can see the undertaker waiting at the door. Sorry to have to bring up such matters, but they are biblical and necessary.

Think about it.

Gary

Did you ever have an aunt that was an educator? I did in the sixth grade and she had big brown eyes that could penetrate right through you. Sometimes, you believed she knew your thoughts.

But did you ever have an ant that was an educator. I did. I was sitting on a log in a mill yard chewing on a sandwich and observing the ants. One was trying to get a dead ant to some location. My mind said it wasn’t for proper burial, but the Deep Freeze for the winter months. I was considering:

Proverbs 6:6

Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,

They know winter is ahead, and they only have the summer to get ready. They know they must all work hard to get their God-given task accomplished. They know why they are here.

You can learn a lot from an aunt or an ant.

Give it some thought.

Gary

If you tuned in to ABC’s Wild World of Sports from 1971 onward, you’re familiar with the opening sequence, in which sportscaster Jim McKay touts “the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.” For nearly three decades, “the agony of defeat” was personified by a ski jumper’s spectacular wipeout at Oberstock, Germany.

That ski jumper was Vinko Bogataj of Yugoslavia, whose brief presence on the popular show probably made him the most famous ski jumper in the world, or at least to American sports fans. Over the years, different clips were rotated in to the montage to illustrate the “thrill of victory,” but Vinko Bogataj’s accident remained as the “agony of defeat” through to the show’s end in 1998. He’s the Agony-of-Defeat Guy.

The Bible mentions victory twenty-one times. My favorite reference is found in 1^st Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 15:57

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 John 5:4

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

We don’t have to live in defeat when the path to victory is clearly laid out in Scripture.

Think about it.

Gary