Any time I can be heading somewhere early in the morning just as the sun is coming up, life is good.  Holding a cup of coffee in one hand and watching the beauty of Maine being uncovered by the sun is pure joy. I’m a morning person and breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.

The Psalmist had a morning prayer that would be good for any believer to imitate.

Psalm 143:8 

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.

Start your morning with a good spiritual breakfast in the Word of God.  One never knows what a day may bring forth, and because of that, the soul must bathe in the presence of God.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Anne Murray sang it so well, “A Little Good News.” One line in that song states, “One more sad story’s one more than I can stand.”

The Bible gives good news.

Proverbs 25:25

As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

The Gospel is translated good news. It comes from a far country and tells us our sins have been paid for, and we can enjoy a new life with the presence of our creator.

Give it some thought.

Gary

One of my favorite country and western songs is “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers. It’s the account of a loser giving advice to a young gambler. I believe it to be filled with spiritual lessons.

We find just the opposite in the book of proverbs.

Proverbs 1:8

My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;

Proverbs 1:15

My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path;

Don’t listen to losers. How to become a winner is found in the Scriptures.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Every once in a while in that junior high class, something made sense and brought you out of a slumber. The teacher now had your full attention and you were enlightened. It probably didn’t last long, but it had a lasting influence on your life.

Matthew 7:28

And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching,

These people had experienced a lifetime of teachers who couldn’t connect and sermons that created lethargy.

Why not go to the source and see what the Master Teacher had to say?

Give it some thought.

Gary

Sometimes people are forced to consider the cross of Jesus Christ.  The man here in the verse I’m sharing probably thought he could just watch from a distance, but that was not to be.

Mark 15:21

Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

Individuals are sometimes compelled by forces outside their control to consider why the cross was meant for someone who never sinned.

How about your involvement?

Think about it.

Gary

Any of you out there entering the golden years will need to know you’ll need more than Social Security, Medicare, retirement plan and 401k.

The golden years are defined by some as “too old to work and too young to die.”

All of that may have a place, but without all of that you can make it with God.

Psalm 71:9
Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

You think the problems of youth and middle age are challenging. Just wait till you attain the golden years.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Do you think that any of your prayers impressed God? There was a man who prayed and found it placed in God’s Holy Writ.

1 Chronicals 4:9-10

 Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”  And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

Jabez considered the pain in his past, the promises of God, and his present need.

Are you a Jabez or just a pain?

Give it some thought.

Gary