If I were offered the life of one of the patriarchs, I would refuse. They had long, difficult struggles, which cause mine to pale in comparison. Here is how Jacob described his journey to Pharaoh:

Genesis 47:9

And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”

The word evil would refer to toil, trouble, sorrows, distresses, and crises. Life is a mixed bag and includes blessing along with heartache.  This is how Jacob expressed it. If you were coming to a conclusion after six decades, how would you express it?

Think about it.

Gary

“Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader,” was an American quiz game show. It originally aired on Fox where it was hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. Many of us found out that there were many fifth graders smarter than we were. However, there are no fifth graders smarter than Adam. Adam could name all the animals. Did you know the Erotylidae is a beetle? Even my spellchecker didn’t know that. Adam did.

Genesis 2:19-20

 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

When we go back to our first ancestor, we realize how much brain power has been lost. Most of us could only name a fraction of the animals.

There is so much we don’t know, but thank God for this thing we can know:  Our salvation is secure.

2 Timothy 1:12

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

The word “know” or a derivative thereof is used 33 times in First John alone.

Be always learning, but don’t be overcome by what you don’t know. Just be thankful that you can know you have eternal life because Jesus purchased that for you.

If your hard drive is not full, think about it.

Gary

What happened to you, Noah? Was the pain of the loss of your old world too much to bear? Was the seemingly insurmountable challenges of starting over just overwhelming? Was the journey just too trying?  Were you afraid or did you have a lack-of-faith attack? Why did you keep that old recipe and decide a drug might be an answer to your state of mind?

Genesis 9:20-21

 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 

This is one of the sadder scenes in Genesis. Life is hard for most, but reaching for a drug to escape reality only makes the journey more difficult. Don’t be deceived.

Proverbs 20:1

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

So many avenues to help escape reality are readily available for our generation.

Think about it before you reach out to that trap.

Gary

One Adam got us into a big mess and one Adam got us out. Everything that was destroyed by the first Adam has been repaired by the Second.

1 Corinthians 15:45 

And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Romans 5:18-19

Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

An invitation has been given by the second Adam to deliver us from the curse of the first Adam.

Have you responded to that call?

Matthew 22:9

Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’

Think about it.

Gary

We were nine-year-old paratroopers and our aircraft for delivering us over the target was the neighbor’s garage.  In the winter when the snow was deep enough, there we were climbing a ladder, walking the peak and yelling “Geronimo” as we sailed through the air to land in the deep snow.

The generation I grew up in venerated the veterans of WW2. My best friend’s father brought a fiddle back from Europe and inside was a pack of Chesterfield cigarettes from the war. To us, those cigarettes were sacred and we would never smoke any of them.

The men and women of that distant era and their sacrifices made it possible for us to enjoy freedom and safety in our generation.

There was another group of individuals that by sacrifice and service gave us the Word of God. It started with the heroes of faith found in Hebrews 11. In the opening of the twelfth chapter, they are described thus:

Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

Because of their witness of faith, we as New Testament believers should desire to imitate them, not by jumping off of buildings but offering our bodies as a living sacrifice.

Romans 12:1

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 

Give it some thought and then jump.

Gary

She was legally married five times, but now she was just living with a man. Pundits make humor out of these accounts, but God found nothing humorous about it. He knew this person was in trouble and needed what only a loving Savior could offer. We can make a mess out of our lives by always allowing the flesh to dictate our next move. The years quickly pile up, and we discover the hole that’s been dug is too deep to crawl out of.

The song says, “I met Jesus at the crossroad where the two ways meet.” That was certainly true of the Samaritan woman in John Chapter four. That has also been true for multitudes over the last two millennia. Not only was she delivered, but she also brought a city out to hear Jesus’ bondage-breaking message.

Read John Chapter four slowly and thoughtfully and count the similarities between her conversion and yours.

Think about it.

Gary

Preacher or politician, that’s what she stated to many individuals over six decades about moi. She was my third grade teacher and you can conclude from the statement, I was a challenge. The ironic thing is, that although she was not a prophetess, her prophecy came true. I started preaching in 1977 and have been at it ever since.

It just goes to show that some goofy kid in your classroom could grow up to be beneficial to society.

Always acknowledge kids and try to encourage them along life’s pathway.

Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.   James Baldwin

Children have one kind of silliness, as you know, and grown-ups have another kind.  C.S. Lewis

Matthew 19:14

 “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ ”

He gave that invitation to children and adults also. You qualify.

Give it some thought.

Gary