Secretary of State Edward Everett delivered a two-hour speech at the Gettysburg National Cemetery, but most people only remember the two-minute speech given by President Abraham Lincoln.

It always amazes me how long it takes some people to say nothing. At one preaching service I attended, I made believe I had to go to the men’s room because I just couldn’t take it anymore. I detest it when kids do that during my service, oh well.

A well-known philosopher made the following statement:

“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein

Trying to make sense of this world we were dropped in has buried many a philosopher. Anyone who leaves the Word of God out of the examination of life will end up in the same cemetery.

Here, take a look at what the Bible says about this subject:

Hebrews 11:3

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

We need to go beyond what is known naturally to have the equation of life come out correctly.

Think about it.

Gary

When I was very young in the 50’s, there were many movies about WW2 and the bombing raids over Germany by the U.S. Air force.  I would go into my room, fold my mattress over on itself, sit on the folded mattress with my feet on the springs, and do a bombing run over Germany. My crew would navigate for me as my six gunners would hold off the Messerschmitt 109’s while we were taking heavy flack. We always came back shot up, low on fuel and in need of an emergency landing.

I don’t know if we successfully completed our required thirty-five missions or not, but because of my expert leadership we never lost a man or plane. My only trouble was my mother’s concern for what I was doing to the bed. She didn’t realize we all had to be committed to the war effort.

I hated to leave my B-17, fellow airmen, and the war itself, but we all have to rid ourselves of imaginations as reality and maturity overtake us.

2 Corinthians 10:5

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

My imaginations were certainly far out, but what about your imaginations? Is it time to deal with them and be obedient to Christ?

Think about it.

Gary

The Scotch- Irish knew something about making music in worship come alive.  The old hymn “Be Thou My Vision” could have a root that goes all the way back to the sixth century. It has been worked on and modified over the years but never lost its powerful effects on the faithful.

The old hymn goes as follows:

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art –
Thou my best thought, by day or by night;
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my great Father; thine own may I be,
Thou in me dwelling and I one with thee.

Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise;
Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
Thou and thou only first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

This is about a relationship that has nothing to do with religion; it has everything to do with a personal relationship with God. May these ancient truths fill us with the desire to have what this poet had.

Philippians 3:10

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

Think about it.

Gary

Johnny Cash sang it as only Johnny could do, with such emotion that it made the listener think that the vocalist was there. It’s the account of a prisoner who decided he was going to take on the impossible wall. He didn’t make it.

He was in prison for a robbery that he believed would have made him the money to win the girl. It was a letter from her while he was in prison that snapped the circuit breaker of right thinking.

I’ll just give you the first and last stanza and you can look up the rest:

There’s a lot of strange men in cell block ten
But the strangest of em’ all
Was a friend of mine who spent his time
Starin at the wall…
Starin at the wall…

Well there’s never been a man who shook this camp
But I knew a man who tried
The newspapers called it a jailbreak plan
But I know it was suicide…
I know it was suicide…

What gets into someone’s head that leads to a prison? What gets into someone’s head that causes him to believe suicide is the only way out? Of all the sad songs, I believe this to be the saddest of them all.

There is a better way.

Psalm 10:14

But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.

Think about it.

Gary

When a Roman general returned from a conquest and was granted a victory parade, a slave was positioned behind him to tell him: “Remember that you are but a man. Remember that you will die.” Another account says the slave whispered in his ear, “All glory is fleeting.” The exercise was designed to remind the general of his mortality and protect him from his pride.

Before Gideon even had a chance to be a conquering hero, the Lord acted to protect him and the rest of Israel from the delusion of leadership.

Gideon had to learn the danger of thinking: You’re something when you are nothing. He had to learn that God uses numbers differently when He calculates battles and outcomes.

The most powerful scene in the book of Judges is “Gideon Learning God’s Mathematics.”

Judges 7:2

And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

Israel’s numbers decreased from thirty-two thousand to three hundred, but in that reduction there was victory.

One day he is hiding from the enemy, and a few days later, he is leading an army to victory because of God’s input.

The victory is a result of listening carefully to God then going forward in the face of the enemy by faith.

God’s methods haven’t changed since the days of Judges.

1 Corinthians 15:57

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

Think about it.

Gary

Two high school juniors were walking to school, talking as two friends would. One had a black eye. I was the one sporting that shiner. The other was the one who administered the black eye.  We both told our classmates the same story… I had walked into a door.

The reason for the necessary correction in the life of number one was that I had pushed number two too far. Everyone has a limit. That morning I knew what he’d done was right and so did he. No regrets from both parties and no change in our close relationship. He never mentioned that event to anyone else over the next five decades.

He called me a few years back to tell me he was dying and asked if I would preach his funeral. I cried, and true to form, he corrected me over the phone.

The Bible speaks of good affliction that happens between two individuals that love each other:

Psalm 119:71

It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.

Affliction is not enjoyable but very profitable. God uses it on His own for His own purpose and our benefit.

Give it some thought.

Gary

His obituary was in the paper today. He was an old veteran who lived past 100. This Army Air Force bomber pilot served in WWII and had 58 combat missions in the Pacific. That veteran attended many funeral services I had over the years. He was proud to be an American and believed that every veteran should have a military send-off by his fellow soldiers.

After the rifles were fired, the bugle sounded and the flag was presented, this warrior over 80 years of age would make his way to me. There was always a warm smile and words of encouragement concerning my part in the service. I was so humbled because I did so little compared to him.

The average age of veterans attending military services is increasing every year and I wonder who will fill their shoes. These are the ones who made America great and we should never forget it.

The Apostle Paul was passing the baton as his service here was drawing to a conclusion. He was encouraging Timothy to take over in this worthwhile ministry in the battle of the ages.

2 Timothy 2:2

And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Who will take our place when our lives are over? Who will be a light to keep the faith for the next generation?

Think about it.

Gary