The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

I’m thinking of the word “perfunctory” which basically means being careless in attention or half-hearted. It is saying something without really thinking it through and capturing the full impact of the meaning. We must never be “perfunctory” in our attitude toward the Lord, His Word, or our worship of Him.

The opposite of perfunctory is to be careful, diligent, and whole-hearted. Think of these verses!

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul. And with all your strength, and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27).
“Do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart” (1 Sam.12:20).
“Teach me Thy way, O LORD; I will walk in Thy truth: unite my heart to fear Thy name” (Ps.86:11).
“With my whole heart I sought Thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments” (Ps. 119:10).
“And they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord” (Acts 11:22-23).

I don’t know about you, but I need to be careful. I need to be diligent. I need to be whole-hearted.

How about a little bit of trivia today? Did you know that in 1903 Crayola released its very first box of colored crayons? According to triviagenius.com, there were only eight colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, and black. Over the next 100 years, Crayola released more than 120 different colors.

Do you remember the thrill of being a child and getting your brand new box of Crayola crayons? To be very honest, I have a hard time remembering what happened two months ago; however, I can remember not only the thrill of my very own brand new box, I can remember the smell. Do you remember those? Who would have ever thought that they could come up with 120 different colors?

Think of our awesome Creator. Certainly the creativity of Crayola is worth noting. But it doesn’t come close to comparing with the awesome Creator. “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him” (Colossians 1:16). You and I are in love! We are in love with our awesome Creator Who became our Savior!

Awesome Savior, Creator and Lord!
He brought forth everything by His own Word.
Oh, how grand it is our voice to raise,
We worship Him and daily give Him praise!

Blessings on you today, dear friends.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” I thought.

I was just pulling out of the driveway when this happened. A ding went off, and on the screen of the control center of my car an announcement was displayed. It read in part, “Taking your eyes off the road can be dangerous…”

What? I had my eyes on the road until this announcement came along!  You know me. I can find an illustration in almost anything. Here it is. Taking your eyes off the road is not the only dangerous thing. Taking our eyes of faith off the Lord Jesus is also dangerous. We need to be “looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

Read His Word.

Trust His promises.

Watch for His return in the sky!

My Daily Prescription goes to hundreds of people every day. Although I have no idea what is happening in the lives of most of my readers, I do know that as followers of the Lord Jesus we have a totally different perspective. We have joy because we know the Lord and have the assurance that He is Lord of all. He is in charge.

We have a real reason to celebrate today! “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).  I’m not sure what kind of day you are experiencing. However! This I do know. It is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful to belong to the Lord and to remember that He is in charge. He is God. We are not. He can be trusted.

So we not only rejoice today, we celebrate Who the Lord is: “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation” (Psalm 118:14).

We also celebrate what the Lord does: “I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me and set me in a large place” (Psalm 118:5.) This speaks of our security and protection.  It surely is important to remember Who it is that makes this day and what He means to us!

Sometimes I come up with strange questions that strike my curiosity. How about you? Here’s just such a question. With the millions and millions of cars that are advertised, bought, sold or swapped, did you ever wonder who made and sold the first car in America and who in our country bought it? My dad worked for General Motors all his life. My father-in-law supervised the collision shop of a busy Chevrolet dealership. I drive a Chevy Equinox. But Chevrolet was not the first car sold and neither was Ford.

The first car in America was purchased on April 1, 1898. It was built by Alexander Winton and sold to Robert Allison who was 71 and lived in Port Carbon, Pennsylvania. According to the Valley Report, “The brochure that came with the vehicles from Winton Motor Carriage Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, stated, ‘This particular carriage has fully demonstrated its practicability and success in actual service over all kinds and conditions of roads- uphill and down- through mud, sand and snow at a speed of from 3 to 20 per hour.” It sold for $1,000.

Oh, how things have changed!

I’m so glad that some things have never and will never change! “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

You can trust God’s Word. It is dependable. It is inspired. It is powerful. It is life-changing. It is just what you and I need daily. Aren’t you thankful for the Scriptures?