Life has its struggles, disappointments and hurdles, and that is a fact for every human being that walks this planet. The struggles of the journey, we call life, are seen in Biblical characters throughout Scripture. It is also present in your life and mine. However, for the believer there is a purposed outcome.

Romans 8:31

What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us?

Struggles serve a divine purpose. God will weave them into our lives and we can end well. Give it some thought.

Gary

If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.
–       Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Luke 6:27-36 

“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

This is a high commandment. I don’t know about you, but I struggle with this one. Give it some thought.

Gary

I’ve learned – that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.                                   – Unknown author

Galatians 5:16 

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 

2 Timothy 2:22 

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Timothy, the pastor of the church in Ephesus, hit that one on the head. Be careful of your next step and ask Him to be your guide. 

Give it some thought.

Gary

July 15 (UPI) — Residents of a Massachusetts city are being asked to keep an eye out for a ball python that has been caught on camera slithering on the loose in the area.

That article made me appreciate northern Maine. However, there is a snake I’m on the lookout for and he is found in Scripture.

1 Peter 5:8 

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

1 John 3:8 

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

2 Corinthians 11:14 

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Be on the lookout for him because he’s not far away. Give it some thought.

Gary

How many times have you heard the statement, “Part of me just can’t let go.”? Truth is we are made up of many parts. We are body, soul and spirit. Then for believers, we have the old nature and the new nature that are at war with each other. The question has to be, which part are we having trouble with? God sent His Holy Spirit to give us a handle on this very human problem.

1 Thessalonians 5:19

Do not quench the Spirit.

Ephesians 4:30

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

The Spirit of God knows best. Let Him have His way. For Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

Give it some thought today.

Gary

“What is hardest to accept about the passage of time is that the people who once mattered the most to us wind up in parentheses.”

                                                — John Irving, “The Cider House Rules”

Yes, they are gone now, dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Something of value was lost that can never be replaced. How many actors on this stage of life have played in parts along side of me or you? Now they are gone and even their memory is getting clouded. Where does this repeated event in our lives come from? The answer is only found in Scripture.

Ezekiel 18:32 

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”

Hebrews 9:27 

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

1 Corinthians 15:26 

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

The reality is that because of sin all die. Give it some careful consideration.

Gary

The article stated that butter kills. (Tried to do something about that situation.) Then an article came out that stated that margarine kills. They said that eggs were bad for you, and then they said eggs were good for you. Who knows what they’ll say next?

I have seventy-three years of improper eating habits and nothing has killed me yet. Probably when you read this, I’ll be dead and some will say, “I told him not to eat like that.” Someone could have the scientific community examine my decaying body for the cause of death. Whatever that proves,  I say, “Don’t cry, because I’ll be in the best shape since I came into existence.”

Matthew 10:28

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

If God didn’t want us to have bacon and eggs, pigs and chickens would never have been created. Remember, He told Peter, “Kill and eat.” I do, however, want to acknowledge that some of us need special diets, but always remember who is in charge of death.

Gary