By GARY ANDREWS
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Watching some of the television commercials lately I have noticed one of the cable ads speaking about common sense. Of course it is geared toward their product and it only makes common sense to use it instead of their competitors.
Several years ago I wrote a column that pertained to the “Obituary of Common Sense”. I don’t know who penned the obituary, however after looking on the internet I find that it, or a similar column, ran in the London Times. It has been printed on several blogs by many columnists but I haven’t found anyone that takes authorship of the obituary. It does speak to us about the direction we have allowed our society to take us.
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, by the name of common sense. Common Sense lived a long life, but died in the United States from heart failure on the beginning of the new millennium.
No one really knows how old he was since his birth records were lost long ago in bureaucratic red tape.
He selflessly devoted his life to service in schools, hospitals, homes, factories, helping folks get jobs done without fanfare and foolishness. For decades, petty rules, silly laws, and frivolous lawsuits had no power over Common Sense.
He was created with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and that life isn’t always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adults are in charge, not the kids), and it’s okay to come in second.
A veteran of the industrial revolution, the Great Depression, and the Technical Revolution, Common Sense survived cultural and educational trends including body piercing, whole language, and “new math.”
But his health declined when he became infected with the “if it only helps one person, it’s worth it” virus.
In recent decades, his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of well intentioned, but overbearing regulations.
He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking lawyers. His health rapidly deteriorated when schools endlessly implemented zero-tolerance policies.
Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, a teen suspended for taking a swig of mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student worsened his condition.
It declined even further when schools had to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student, but could not inform the parents when a female student was pregnant or wanted an abortion.
Finally, Common Sense lost his will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, criminals received better treatment than their victims, and Federal jusges tauck their noses in everything from Boy Scouts to professional sports.
Finally, when a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, awarded a huge settlement, Common Sense threw in the towel.
As the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of logic, but was kept informed of developments regarding questionable regulations, such as those for the low flow of toilets, rocking chairs, and step ladders.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion, his daughter, Responsibility, and his son, Reason.
He is survived by two step brothers: My Rights, and Ima Whiner.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
The cable ad says to use common sense instead of breaking windows with messages taped around rocks or dressing yourself up with make shift provisions to receive signals for better television reception. Of course we are not going to see many people that would do either one of these actions, however we are seeing all around us what the obituary is saying.
The Bible gives us all kind of messages about peace, perspective, wisdom, promise, and comfort, especially in Psalms and Proverbs.
All of us need to remember what Proverbs 3:21 says to us: “My son, let them not depart from your eyes - Keep sound wisdom and discretion.”
Prayer: Our Holy Father, guide me and direct me in all of my paths and give me wisdom to choose your path over what the world has to offer. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday – 1 Corinthians 15:33-34; Monday – Zechariah 8:12-23; Tuesday – James 1:22-25; Wednesday – Proverbs 9:1-12; Thursday – Romans 2:12-16; Friday – Jeremiah 49:7; Saturday – 2 Corinthians 6:11-18.)
Gary Andrews is the author of Encouraging Words: 30-days in God’s Word. To obtain a copy go to his website www.gadevotionals.com.

By GARY ANDREWS
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Have you ever tried to run from God? Is there a certain place that you can go and hide from Him? If you have found such a place there are many Christians wanting to know where this place is.
Just as the minor prophet of the Old Testament, Jonah tried to escape the call of God by running away. God has called him to go and preach to the Ninevites or the Assyrians, people Jonah hated and wanted banished from the face of the earth. Jonah had no desire to witness to these people and thought he could run from what God was calling him to do.
There are many modern day Jonahs and each day becomes a hassle because of their unfaithfulness to the call God has given them. Just as Jonah rejected his call to go to Nineveh and got on a ship going to Tarshish, the opposite direction of Nineveh, many of us today are rejecting what God wants us to do. We have the same idea that Jonah had and think we can escape God’s plans for us.
Jonah didn’t want to witness or preach to people he hated. He didn’t want to go and be around these despicable, treacherous people. He wanted to do what he wanted to do and on his own timetable. He had no love for the Ninevites at all.
Aren’t we in the same situation in today’s society? Aren’t we called to be witnesses to those around us, even the people we disrespect or do not want to be around? Do we want to be associated with our enemies? Not only are we fighting these problems, but what about other circumstances we want to run from such as family, work, home life, and addictions?
Even though we try and hide from God there is no where you can go to escape Him. Remember He is the creator of the Heavens and Earth and there is not one place you can escape too without Him knowing where you are and what is in your heart.
God got Jonah’s attention by allowing him to be swallowed by a big fish. Only then did Jonah cry out to the Lord and ask for forgiveness and tell the Lord he would do what the Lord wanted him to do. Many of us today are in similar situations however because of our pride, fear, and doubt we allow ourselves to be in God’s wrath instead of His mercy.
God has a love for even the most unlovable people we can imagine and it is our responsibility to tell them the Good News.
Prayer: Father God, I give you praise for allowing me time on this earth. I pray that I will hear your voice and attend to any situation that you call me to. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday – Jonah 1:1-17; Monday – Matthew 21:18-22; Tuesday – Jeremiah 23:23-24; Wednesday –Ephesians 2:1-10; Thursday – Psalm 139:7-12; Friday – Acts 4:5-12; Saturday – Number 32:23.) A218-13
Gary Andrews is the author of Encouraging Words: 30-days in God’s Word. To obtain a copy go to his website www.gadevotionals. com.

By Gary Andrews
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Not so long ago I was in a traffic jam on one of the major interstates. I have been in many slowdowns or stops on interstates but this is the first one I set there for three hours. It is amazing who you see, what you see, and who you talk with when sitting in the middle of a highway and nowhere to go.
I saw cars, pickups, and tractor trailers displaying license plates from all over the United States. I watched people get out of their cars or trucks and talk with others about anything and everything. I read the advertising on the side of tractor trailers, many with bright, shiny logos and catch phrases relating to the products they were carrying. Many of these trailers carry Christian logos and sayings and/or Bible verses.
There is one trucking company that has the Bible verse Matthew 6:33 written on it. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all things shall be added unto you.” I have also seen trucks with John 3:16 and there are many others. With the distances these vehicles travel these verses may very well be the one thing that could encourage an individual to better things or possibly save an individual from a terrible thing.
Riding the road ways, as I do, I witness first hand big rigs pulled over on the shoulder of the road helping someone in need. There are many good drivers who exemplify the meaning of the words values, morals, and ethics. Of course there may be many that display just the opposite; however I haven’t witnessed any of them yet.
There are many truckers that will display “Driving for Jesus” on their rigs. These drivers may never know whose lives may have been touched because of their boldness in living for Jesus and doing God’s work.
The afternoon I spent in the traffic jam I witnessed many truckers talking with each other and many other people explaining what was ahead of us and the reason for the delay. They seemed to calm a lot of anxious people and once they had said what they wanted to it seemed a peace came across the ones that had the opportunity of hearing their voice.
It would be good for all of us to witness first hand some of the situations these truckers go through. Not all truckers are Christians but the ones that are seem to in a high percentage. I know firsthand of one trucker, several years ago, stopped and picked up a family stranded on the side of the road and took them to where they were going. That family was mine. He gave my wife, four children, two miniature dogs, and me a ride and made life a lot easier for someone not sure of what to do.
Prayer: Father God thank you for the drivers that are on the road and not afraid of sharing their faith. Thank you for that particular driver that gave my family and I the much needed help we needed on the night we had van problems. I pray that I can display the same kind of love and help for all of my neighbors, friends, and anyone else that needs assistance. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday – Psalm 28:6-9; Monday – Romans 12:9-13; Tuesday – Jeremiah 29:11-13; Wednesday – John 1:1-13; Thursday – Isaiah 55:6-8; Friday - Matthew 7:7-12; Saturday – Mark 11:22-26.)
Gary Andrews is the author of Encouraging Words: 30-days in God’s Word. To obtain a copy go to his website www.gadevotionals .com.

By GARY ANDREWS
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Since time began there have been witnesses for God that many of us today would have never thought of as people who stand up for the truth. Even in our days we see people stand up and speak up for Jesus because it seems that many of the leaders and politicians of this world will not do so. Times have changed and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has been eliminated from the vocabulary of our leaders because we have allowed naysayers and atheist to gain control of our laws.
We have become a nation of idol worshipers and have strayed away from what God has given us. We have forgotten what our forefathers taught us because we have fallen into self-indulgence seeking treasures and pleasures that we generate.
Many of us will say there is no hope for our world today however we must remember that God has allowed His chosen people, the Israelites, to go through these same problems as we are facing now. All one has to do is read in the Old Testament the book of Amos.
Even though Amos is considered a minor prophet, he wasn’t raised in this manner nor was he the son of a prophet. God called him out of the fields from sheepherding and a tender to sycamore fig trees. He was an unlikely person to be called by God however he gave up what he was doing and went where the Lord sent him. Amos left his home in the southern kingdom of Judah and went to Samaria in the northern kingdom of Israel.
This was during a time when the people of Israel had reached a low point in their devotion to God. The people became greedy and stopped following and adhering to their values. The wealthy were becoming wealthier at the expense of others that couldn’t help themselves. They were becoming dependent on foreign trade, mostly wine and oil.
Doesn’t this sound like America today? Haven’t we gotten away from our values of the past and opened the doors for our dependence on foreign trade, mainly oil? Aren’t we putting value and attention on self-righteousness, greed, money, control and power? Hasn’t our leaders become dependent on what they think is right for our country instead of looking to God and asking for His leadership?
One will say we continue to be the most powerful nation in the world and provide food, medicine, and other commodities for countries not as fortunate as us. Yes this is true, however how long is it going to be until we become one of those countries needing help from other countries because we allowed our value system and trust in God to deteriorate?
We have many Amos’ in our country today wanting to stand up but will not because of fear and rejection. All of us need to believe that being God’s witness is a precious privilege, divine expectation, and a potential risk. Amos did this and thanks to his boldness and acceptance of God’s command Israel was spared potential disaster until the Lord decided to let them experience a famine of God’s word. One day we will all realize that the rejection of the Lord and His word eventually results in loss of opportunity. This is a dangerous gamble. Many of us like to hear the word of God preached however we don’t want the commitment of witnessing and spreading the message of God.
Will you be the Amos in our modern day society?
Prayer: Thank you Lord for the opportunity of living in the land of the free and the home of the brave. I pray that we will always have these gifts that have been provided by many through your leadership. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday – 2 Chronicles 7:14; Monday – James 5:16; Tuesday – Amos 7:4-6; Wednesday – 2 Peter 3:10-13; Thursday – Proverbs 3:5-7; Friday – John 14:6; Saturday – Matthew 10:26-33.)
Gary Andrews is the author of Encouraging Words: 30-days in God’s Word. To obtain a copy go to his website www.gadevotionals. com.