With seven decades behind me, I sometimes find myself looking back over the miles I’ve traveled.  Indeed, I encountered laughter, sadness, joy grief, love, coldness, creativity, regret in those years. It is worth the trip, but I wouldn’t want to do it over again. I’m longing for a place where all the bad stuff is removed. Thank God, He found me and gave me a hope.

Isaiah 65:25 

The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord.

Hebrews 10:23 

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

Don’t quit. The trip ends just over the rise. Give it some consideration.

Gary

I have a replica of the battle ship the Bismarck on a shelf.  My grandson made this for me on a 3D printer because the ship fascinated me. The ship was built in 1939 at a cost in today’s dollars of 2.5 billion. It only saw eight days of action and was taken down by the British. So much for the 2.5 billion dollars!

It reminds me of the monetary waste of the cults. They fight a war they cannot win.

Matthew 23:15 

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

1 John 4:1 

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Give it some thought because every false way will sink someday, for the Lord wins.

Gary

It happened in Florida in 1997. Three young people had pulled a stop sign out of the ground and left the scene. Sometime later, three individuals were killed in an accident attributed to that act of vandalism. All three vandals were convicted by a jury and received life sentences. However, because of extenuating circumstances, they only spent five years behind bars.

The lesson is don’t mess with signs because it can cost you dearly.

Hebrews 2:1-4

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.

Don’t mess with the signs and wonders proclaimed in the Word because eternity is at stake. Give it some thought.

Gary

The Serenity Prayer goes like this: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

A version of the prayer was originally composed by Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in the early 1930s. Since that time, it has been used by multiple sources and some have made money off of it. We are not to pray repetitiously. However, this prayer gives the believer a good course to direct one’s life.

Psalm 29:11

The Lord will give strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.

Psalm 46:10

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

Look to Him as you make the many decisions you are confronted with in life.

Give it some thought.

Gary

A pillar in construction is a tall, vertical structure of stone, wood, or metal, used as a support for a building. In personal terms, it means a person or thing regarded as reliably providing essential support for something.

America has pillars starting with the midnight ride of Paul Revere. The church in America was strong because of those who left Europe, seeking religious freedom. Only God can make a pillar. Do you care to be one, holding the gospel banner high while supporting the gospel and those who strive to do so?

Revelation 3:12

He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

Give it some thought. Carry your load and bear your burden.

Gary

Frances Ridely Havergal (1836-1879) has provided us with one of the classic hymns of Christian commitment. Known as the “consecration poet,” Havergal attempted to live a life fully consecrated to Christ and to those she saw in any physical or spiritual need.

Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Hebrews 13:15 

Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.

God put us here on the planet. Are we thankful? Do we consider Him? Are we accountable? What are we leaving behind? These are questions that demand an answer.

Give it some thought because Frances sure did.

Gary

I don’t know how many of you are exhausted from the struggles of life.  I do want you to know that the day is coming when a rest is in order that can’t be compared to any experience here on earth.

Revelation 14:13

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”

It’s labor here, but it is rest there. Looking forward to it. Give it some thought.

Gary