I shook my brother’s hand as I rose to leave the veteran’s home, a necessary but lonely place.  We both had a firm grip that we wished could last.  Fifty-seven years ago, he squeezed my hand like that as the emergency room’s doctor pulled broken teeth and sewed up the face of a drunken kid. Yes, tears are falling as I type this.

I owe a lot of what I am today to him, a debt which I can never repay. How many like him have been a part of my life’s journey? I can’t calculate that, but I know my greatest debt is to my Heavenly Father.

Psalm 107:1 

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 23:6 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I feel my Heavenly Father’s hand at times like this and am grateful. How about you? Give it some thought.

Gary

So, the local hospital called and the spokesperson said, “Gary, your brain scan has returned, and everything is normal.” It was good to hear that information because there were so many who believed otherwise. Just joking, although some of you might be discouraged by that information.

What if others did have all the information in our tête (That’s French for those 25 pounds on our shoulders.)? We wouldn’t want that because the embarrassment would be too hard to bear. However, there is One who has access to a complete scan and that is God. You can’t protect that information with a difficult password.

Psalm 139:1-4

 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.

Embarrassing, isn’t it? Turn to Him; He can take care of both mind and body. Give it some thought.

Gary

Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.

–       Elbert Hubbard

The Bible doesn’t use the word stupidity but the words foolish, fool or folly appear over 300 times.

Proverbs 18:2 

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Proverbs 29:11

A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

Proverbs 18:6 

A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating.

Proverbs 28:26 

Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Proverbs 26:19 

Is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!”

 Try not to be stupid (I mean a fool) today. Give it some thought.

Gary

There are two verses in Scripture that the vast majority of professing Christians don’t believe:

Daniel 4:17

‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers,
And the sentence by the word of the holy ones,
In order that the living may know
That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men,
Gives it to whomever He will,
And sets over it the lowest of men.’

Romans 13:1

 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

How did I come to that conclusion about denial? I listen to them before and after elections. Please go and vote, but remember the results lie in the capable hands of God. Do you trust in His decisions? Give it some consideration.

Gary

Rescuers located the bodies of four Italian divers deep inside an underwater cave in the Maldives, days after the group vanished during a dangerous dive far beyond recreational limits, Italy’s Foreign Ministry said Monday. Sadly, in the same article, information that a rescue diver also died trying to retrieve the amateurs was provided.

My interest in this story was spurred by the response of a reader of this article: “Their skill did not match their ego. A deadly combination.”

The same is true of so many on this planet. They avoid the no trespassing signs put up by God and experience an unnecessary death. Yes, Freud pointed this out: the ego and the Id: The primal, unconscious part of the mind that seeks immediate gratification and desires.

Pray first before you go into areas beyond your qualifications. Judah failed to do exactly that in Genesis chapter 38. Give it some thought.

Romans 8:7 

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

Deuteronomy 30:15 

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.

Give it some thought.

Gary

With my early morning coffee in hand, I examine the maple tree outside the living room window. Maple seedlings follow a consistent, predictable growth progression during their first spring. After shedding their winged samaras (helicopter seeds) and rooting into the soil, they quickly develop their first foliage.

How can anyone believe that just evolved? No, that beautiful maple did not become a tree through time and chance. Let me give you a more plausible explanation.

Hebrews 11:3 

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the Word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Psalm 90:2 

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

God put that maple tree there for me so I could enjoy it while sipping my coffee. Give it some consideration.

Gary

The “prosperity gospel” (or prosperity theology) is a widely debated teaching that true faith in God inevitably leads to material, financial, and physical well-being. Its core theological errors stem from how it distorts foundational Christian principles.

Could the lives of the apostles or the early Christian community validate this erroneous theology? No, many were martyred for their faith and forced to live in catacombs.  it is a demonic deception by the devil that makes for a religion for those hooked on the lottery system of theology.

Here’s a reality check:

1 Peter 5:10 

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Hebrews 11

Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

My prayer is that you do prosper in the truth of God’s Word. Give it some thought.

Gary