By Gary Andrews
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As I get older I often reminisce about the way things used to be. From the time I was a young boy and wishing I was older, I can vividly remember certain events and actions that have stayed in my memory for all of these years. It is a shame that our young people of today cannot fathom what it was like to live in the 40’s, 50’s, or 60’s.
It seems that in the earlier years more people were harder workers and over the time we have evolved into a time of smarter workers. The hi-tech advantages have changed the way we think and the way we approach our work.
There were certain remedies in the earlier years that we were supposed to follow to help heal our ailments. We were told to eat certain fruits and vegetables to help our vitamin supply and to protect us from the flu and viruses. Today it seems that our media outlets are telling of some scientist that has perfected remedies to over shadow what we have heard all our lives and the items we used and ate for many years were not good for us. Then a year later we hear that what we were doing is okay and should continue the process we learned many years ago. The world changes every day and we are victims of what society tells us to do.
Something that has never changed since the inception of time is that God has always been with us and has never changed His outlook, values, or His love for His children. His Holy Word is one that can be read and used and is never outdated. He speaks to us daily through His Word and prayer.
It seems that in today’s modernistic society that people are depending on themselves and others around them to be successful. These people are adapting to worldly views and accepting values less becoming what Christians know.  Morals, ethics, and love have been replaced with deception, cruelty, and carelessness. We have become a world of “I” and lost the meaning of “we”. We have become a society of “it’s all about me”.
We are being told on a daily basis from certain groups that the Bible is an antiquated old history book and it has lost its value. I want you to know that there are many antiquated old history books but I have never seen one that has lost its value. Every day we are allowed to live on this earth creates new history and should be incorporated with these old history books.
The Bible is not one that you are going to add history too. The Bible is the inerrant, inspired Word of God and speaks to us today through the many scriptures we are allowed to read. It will never go out of date and for the ones who believe it has no value don’t read it or study it on a daily basis using scriptures in the proper context.
Yes, we are going to have atheists and agnostics saying the Bible has changed and that the Word is no longer as it was. Yes, we are going to have different religious groups step forward and say their religion is true and that Christianity is a thing of the past.
And so the world goes on and changes evolve every day. Christianity and the Bible are under scrutiny each and every day because Christians have not stood up for the truth. We need to remember what the Psalmist says in chapter 18 verses 28-29: “You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning, my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop, with my God I can scale a wall.”
Keep God first in your life and put the world and the naysayers behind you.
Prayer: Almighty God, thank you for being first and foremost in my life. I know you are the way, the truth, and the light. Thank you for your guidance through your Word and be with me each and every day to stand up for you.  Amen.
Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday - Psalm 18:30-32; Monday – Luke 5:1-11; Tuesday – 2 Corinthians 12:14-21; Wednesday – Jeremiah 17:7-11; Thursday – Mark 9:50; Friday – Luke 8:9-15; Saturday – Ecclesiastes 3:1-17.
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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One might ask, “Why would I ever be grateful for the problems I am experiencing?”
There are many great books written by good people on how we can overturn our problems by discovering the opportunities that lie within them. There are websites you can go to seeking what you want to know. Some are good; some are not!
J.C. Penney, a businessman and entrepreneur who founded J.C. Penny stores, once said: “I am grateful for all of my problems. After each one was overcome, I became stronger and more able to meet those that were still to come. I grew in all my difficulties.”
Penney, like many of us, had difficult times in his life. Living through some hard times, especially the great depression, Penney overcame his problems by turning back to God for his deliverance. He heard the hymn “God will take care of you” and at that moment became a born-again Christian. He had finally realized who the great problem solver is.
The Bible is full of stories of good people who went through difficult times. Take your Bible and read the book of Job. This was a man who loved God with all of his heart. Even though God allowed Satan to run rampant and take away his wealth, family, and possessions, Job never doubted the Lord to take care of him. Another example of problems that suddenly approach us is the time Jesus was in the boat with His disciples and a storm came up quickly. Jesus was asleep and the disciples woke Him up because they were afraid and Jesus rebuked them by saying, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
Think about David, the young Sheppard boy, when he faced the giant Goliath.
All of us today struggle with problems in one form or another. This is nothing new to our society. I believe that most of our problems begin when we take our eyes off of Jesus and listen to what the world is advising and telling us. So many people have hardened their hearts to what the Bible has told us for centuries and have gotten away from the Word of God. Many of us face difficult circumstances and never realize that God is in control and His will is going to be done.
Even though we feel defeated at times, we need to stop and look at the opportunities that lie within our problems. Robert South once said, “Defeat should never be a source of discouragement, but rather a fresh stimulus.”
Whatever problems you are facing today will pass away. Look to Jesus for your guidance and answers and He will answer you.
Prayer: Thank you Lord for the difficult situations I have gotten myself into and I give you all the praise for seeing me through them. You are a great and merciful God. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday – James 1:2-15; Monday – 1 Samuel 17:38-51; Tuesday – Psalm 40:11-12; Wednesday – Proverbs 19:20-23; Thursday – Ephesians 6:10-18; Friday – Matthew 8:23-27; Saturday – Job 1:20-22.)
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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In today’s fast paced society and high tech world, it seems that we can hardly go anywhere without the help of our GPS (Global Positioning System) or cell phone. There used to be a time that we used atlases or road maps to help us find our way. Now all we have to do is punch a few buttons and our directions pop up on a dashboard gadget or our cellphone.
We are all creatures of habit and we use whatever modern marvels that we can get our hands on and there is nothing wrong with this. I use these tools all the time when I am driving and have no clue where I am going or what roads I need to get there. These are great instruments for us to have.
Have you ever thought about the GPS used by the Israelites in Old Testament times? They had one and they used it without hesitation. One good thing about their GPS is you never heard it say “recalculating.”
The Lord provided a cloud cover for Moses and the Israelites to follow on their exodus from Pharaoh and Egypt. When the cloud moved they followed it. When it stopped they stopped. This is told to us in Numbers 9:17; “Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.”
Our great and mighty God shows His graciousness to us by providing us guidance in our daily lives. All we have to do is seek it and accept it when it comes. Through prayer and reading the Bible, God makes it abundantly clear what we should do every day and what our thoughts are to be.
What about the direction your life is going in? Are you on a path that will get you to heaven when your time on earth is over? Will you spend eternity with Jesus?
Just as the Israelites, we are going to have difficult days and times and wonder why God has forsaken us. We need to understand and learn, just as they did in the Old Testament times, that God never leaves us or forsakes us. It is when we turn our backs on Him that we wander away from His guidance and care. When we face difficult situations we need to pray for wisdom and also talk with mature believers that can pray and seek God’s guidance on our behalf.
God’s GPS for us is a very clear and narrow road. Even when we think He is not listening or caring about us, we need to wait on Him and stay faithful to the Lord. The prophet tells us in Isaiah 48:17; “This is what the Lord says, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”
Prayer: Thank you Lord God for your Word. Thank you for the opportunity of talking to you each and every day. You are a gracious and loving God and I give you all the praise for the life you have allowed me to have. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday – Psalm 25:8-15; Monday – Hebrews 11:8-10; Tuesday – 2 Samuel 2:1-4; Wednesday –Ephesians 5:8-21; Thursday – Exodus 23:20-21; Friday – Acts 8:2 6-40; Saturday – Proverbs 8:12-21.)
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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Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see.
To me this is one of the greatest songs ever written and continues to be as popular today as it was when it was penned in 1748 by John Newton. Newton had gone through some serious trials in his early life and it wasn’t until he was captain of his own ship that he realized that God is in control and through His mercy and grace we are saved. Newton had some religious instruction from his mother; however she passed away when he was a child and he became a victim of the world.
Newton is like so many of us today. We may have heard about God when we were at home because our parents taught us this. So many of us leave the nest and many times we leave behind our spiritual teachings plus our ethics, integrity, morals, and many other features needed to survive.
Just as it did in the 1700’s and earlier, the world teaches us to look out for number one and to get above others anyway we can. It doesn’t matter who we step on or hurt when we need to further our own glory. There are many of our leaders in today’s society, and even some preachers that will lower their values to those of the world to get ahead in society. We work really hard at getting people to envy us because we are self-sufficient in our jobs, our families, our homes, and our communities. We have no compassion for others and push them aside to make sure our way is not deterred.
I see in many of our younger generation homes the loss of courtesy, respect, manners, and the teachings of our elders. The world is telling them to move ahead in the careers using any method they can. When we see this in business ethics we will also see it in the homes, especially when two parents are working and our children and grandchildren being raised by others.
Newton observed May 10, 1748, as the day of his conversion, a day of humiliation in which he subjected his will to a higher power. He wrote in his journal that all seemed lost as his ship went through a violent storm and would surely sink, he asked the Lord to have mercy upon him and his crew. He later reflected on what he had asked the Lord and realized the God’s grace had begun to work for him.
He wrote, “Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come, ‘tis grace has bro’t me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” After returning home Newton married, self-educated himself in several languages, then went into the ministry, preaching and writing songs.
How many of us today have gone through these same type tribulations that John Newton went through? How many of us have asked God to help us in our times of need? How many of us have stopped to thank our Lord and Savior for bringing us through difficult times and then turning our lives around to be a disciple for Him?
Scripture that all of us need to remember and hold close to our heart is Psalm 145:8-9; “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.” It doesn’t matter what you have done in the past as long as you lay it all out before the Lord and confess your wrongs, then He will forgive you and lead you where He wants you to be.
Prayer: Father God thank you for being with me and leading me in the direction you would have me go. Thank you for your grace and mercy for a sinner such as I. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday – Psalm 103:8-14; Monday – 4-8; Tuesday – Exodus 34:4-8; Wednesday – Romans 5:15-19; Thursday – Nehemiah 9:16-18; Friday – John 1:15-18; Saturday – 2 Corinthians 6:1-10.).
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.