“Memories, by John Grant, is one of the most profound devotionals I have ever read.” —Frank Becker
Week Forty-One, 2018
MEMORIES
By Senator John Grant, FL (Ret)
See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind (Isaiah 65:17).
It was something we had talked about many times, but finally we decided to do it. After living fifty years in the same house, we had piled up closets full of memorabilia, photos and many scrapbooks full of days gone by. After spending many years in the political world, we had twenty-one scrapbooks of just newspaper articles and photos.
My bride and I sat down together over several days and went through them one by one, reliving each event for one last time, as we created many trash bound bags. These articles went back for more than forty years.
The one thing that struck me about many items is that they were of paramount importance when they happened, but now looking back many are almost insignificant. Back then, I am sad to say, that everything was about me. Now I have changed my priorities. Then, power, possession and prosperity mattered. Now they are almost insignificant.
While it was good to review the past, it was also a time to regret many things I did and did not do. We also went through knick-knacks which we lugged home from all over the world thinking they were either valuable or memorable or both. Now they are just more things to dust and clean.
God wants us to learn from the past but to live in the present, with our eyes fixed on him, not on the future. Human understanding will never bring us peace. That’s why He instructed us to trust in Him. We humans have a voracious appetite to try to figure out things in order to gain a sense of mastery over our lives. But the world presents us with an endless sense of problems. As soon as we master one, another pops up to challenge us.
In past years, I thought I had it all figured out and how wrong I was. Reviewing the past collection of “stuff” helped me to figure out how wrong I was. How often I trusted in my brain to figure the right course and that was wrong.
We are to trust the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding. But to follow him and allow Him to make our paths straight. Live the new, throw away the past and trudge on with our eyes on Him as we carry out the plans He has for our life.
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
Looking Back:
Rear view mirrors will start to disappear within the next few years, according to Jaguar’s design boss Ian Callum. The Brit claimed cameras displaying images inside the cabin will replace traditional mirrors soon, bringing improvements in safety as well as fuel economy through better aerodynamics.
That’s expected to herald a new era in car design, dictated by advanced electronics and new powertrain solutions, such as fully-electric vehicles that forego conventional front-mounted engines for battery packs in the floor, like that used in the Tesla Model S.
“We’re going to get electronic rear view mirrors soon, which will make a big difference to design,” Callum said, even to the point of potentially deleting rear windscreens on future cars for better occupant protection and structural integrity.
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Who is a Christian?
A person is not a Christian because his parents were godly people. Christian parents are wonderful, but they can’t make the decision for a child. He must do it himself.
A person is not a Christian just because he is sincere. My mother thought she was giving me cough medicine once, but she had unknowingly poured out some poison. She was sincere, but she was sincerely wrong.
A person isn’t a Christian just because he follows his conscience. His conscience may be dead. You aren’t a Christian because of your feelings. Feelings change.
Then who is a Christian? I’ll tell you. A Christian is a person in whom Christ dwells. The Scripture says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1: 27). A Christian is a person who believes that his sins have been forgiven through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The devil will try to make you doubt this. How can you know your sins have been forgiven? Because God said so, and God can’t lie. —Billy Graham.
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
“I had a Hindu student say to me in Madras, I would become a Christian if I could see one. And when he said that to me, he was looking at me. That was one of the greatest sermons ever preached to me.” —Billy Graham.
A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another’s.
Being human is a given, but keeping our humanity is a choice.
“Resentment is the cocaine of emotions. It causes our blood to pump and our energy level to rise. But it also demands higher and more frequent doses.” —Max Lucado.
“Our Father wants us to remember that heaven and hell are forever. Imagine a hummingbird that made a trip from the moon to the earth once every thousand years, bringing back in its beak a tiny piece of our planet. When the bird has moved the earth to the moon, eternity will have only begun.” —Jim Dennison.
“We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10). Are you ready?” Jim Dennison.
Focus: The ability to block out the unnecessary brings the goal within reach
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©2018 John Grant | Florida State Senator (Ret.) | 10025 Orange Grove Drive | Tampa, FL 33618