Amid the difficulties of mortality, can we find a place of refuge from it all? Crimes, accidents, illnesses and man’s inhumanity to man can add up, if you’re a realist. Some can find temporary escape in drugs, alcohol, counseling or the lotus position, but it’s vapor at best.

Sometime in the middle of the 1500’s, this old hymn of the faith appeared on the scene and gave comfort to millions.

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing:
Our helper He, amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work his woe;
His craft and power are great,
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

The song says the damage the evil one can do is nothing compared to the life that the Creator can give. We, as Christians, are on the winning side. It doesn’t matter how dark the hour.

Romans 8:37

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Take time today and discover exactly what is meant by, “all these things.”

Then think about it.

Gary

It certainly wouldn’t be politically correct today, but the coach grabbed him and threw him up against the concrete wall. It was halftime and the basketball team was behind. The player was not performing to his potential.  The coach gave him a choice. Either the ballplayer was to take off the uniform and go home or go back on the court and win the game. After releasing him from the wall, the young man decided it was best to do the latter. They won the game.

It is amazing how with a little persuasion the heart can start functioning to produce amazing results. Vance Havner illustrated this possibility in a few sentences.

God isn’t a talent scout looking for someone who is “good enough” or “strong enough.” He is looking for someone with a heart set on Him, and He will do the rest.

Vance Havner

When the time came for Israel to build the temple, King David had some soul-searching advice for his people.

1 Chronicles 22:19

 “Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God.” 

I appreciated those individuals who challenged me to do better.

Give it some thought.

Gary

In 1995 Roy Clark recorded the song, “When I Was Young.”

This is one stanza out of that song:

Yesterday when I was young
So many happy songs were waiting to be sung,
So many wild pleasures lay in store for me
And so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see.
I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out,
I never stopped to think what life was all about
And every conversation I can now recall
Concerned itself with me and nothing else at all.

The meaning is very clear. We plow through life in the early stages, thinking it is all about us and what pleasures we can get out of it. Overlooking the snags along the way, we try as best we can to leave the pain behind. However, as life draws closer to its climax, reality sets in and there is a longing for the ignorance of youth. Some step out of the crowd, rushing to eternity, and examine the cross and find the true meaning of life.

Hebrews 12:2

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

How about you? Is life a sad song or a place where the Risen One reigns?

Think about it.

Gary

In 1968 “Folsom Prison” hit #1 on the country and western charts.  Johnny Cash actually sang it at Folsom prison to the prisoners in 1968.

I believe a lot of people appreciated it because they were incarcerated in some spiritual, mental, emotional or economic prison from which they sought escape.

There is an irony in the story of one individual who stated he became a prisoner of the very same institution he helped to build.

Sin puts many of us behind bars.

Romans 7:23

but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

Sin can keep you a prisoner of your own making or you can look to Christ to set you free.

John 8:36

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Think about it.

Gary

My father was a foreman in the forest industry for the vast majority of his working years. Sometimes, if I cried enough, he would let me tag along as he journeyed through the forest, checking crews who were cutting four-foot pulp.

As an eight or ten-year-old, I would be following him closely, step by step. The only time when his walking rhythm would be interrupted is when a snake would startle him. I was always amazed how Dad could do the high-jump without a pole.

Adam and Eve were introduced to that old snake when human history was just in its infancy. Instead of believing God, they believed the deceiver which was a problem.  They didn’t have the proper reaction to his presence. The race has never recovered from that event.

Genesis 3:1-5

 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

He is still telling the same old lies today. Do you believe him or God? Don’t listen to him, run. You will surely die.

Think about it.

Gary

“Both Sides Now” was written by Joni Mitchell in 1967, but was recorded first by Judy Collins in 1967. Joni Mitchell recorded her version only in 1969. The song is about how simple and exciting life can be in our youth, but then in adulthood the harsh reality sets in.

Solomon wrote about that dilemma as his journey was coming to a conclusion.

Ecclesiastics 1:2-4

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher;
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

 What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he toils under the sun?
 One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
But the earth abides forever.

The final chapter of that book gives the answer. I won’t quote it, but pray you will take the time to investigate it for yourself.

We might be driving cars instead of riding donkeys, but the problem of understanding life is just as elusive. The only instrument that can help tremendously is looking at life through the lens of Scripture.

Think about it.

Gary

A friend of mine made a statement about these devotionals… “Deep enough to catch my attention, but brief enough to hold my attention.” He claims to have ADHD and the devotionals are palatable even though he has such a condition.

I’m blessed to be able to be a benefit to him and pray for the rest of you that these emails might be a blessing and not a nuisance.  You can always just send me a blank email and your name will be removed from the list for little or no charge.

There is a verse in the Bible that relates to this subject:

Proverbs 25:17

Do not let your foot be in your neighbor’s house too much, or he may become tired of you and hate you.

We’ve had a few of those annoyances in our lifetime, like the above mentioned, and they had to be deleted, so we understand how you feel.

Think about it.

Gary