Ecclesiastes 12:10

  Calvin Coolidge once said: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On!' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” Paul wrote: “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” Galatians 6:9  The Hebrew writer said it like this: Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. Hebrews 10:35-36    James told us: Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him...

  Its been a rough couple of months.     Or maybe a rough year.    Rumors of war, civil unrest, riots, turmoil in the government, pandemic, quarantine, economic depression, the list goes on and on. A recent survey shows an overwhelming majority of Americans think things are out of control.  Difficult times can be overwhelming but they can also help us to focus. we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body .  2nd Corinthians 4:8-10   It’s easy to say and think we rely on God when we got the world beat. But when the world strikes back hard and bloodies our nose, we might not be so sure. However, it’s during those times that the knowledge that the God we serve is over all can lift us up when everything else has us down. ...

  Simon wasn’t very good at his job.  For most folks, fishing is a hobby a good time on the lake even if you get skunked.  Not so for the professional fisherman. A day without a catch means no product to sell, no money collected, and nothing to bring home to the wife and kids. Those days seemed to happen a lot to Simon.   Maybe I’m wrong but all I can go by is the history we have on him and every time we have it recorded, he caught nothing, at least on his own. You would have to be hard headed to keep at it with all that failure. No wonder he got the nickname of rock.   So perhaps, that’s why when he got the chance at a new career he jumped at it. Well, not so much a new career but a different form of the old one. He would still be fishing just going after a different kind of fish.  This time he would have a boss, one that had shown him, even in his old job, a better way to do things. And that made all the difference.   Simon didn’t al...

John Pemberton was brilliant.  You would have to be to earn a medical degree at age nineteen, start up eighteen companies and own a research lab recognized as the best in the state of Georgia. Yet this brilliant chemist is probably most remembered for the one invention he stupidly let slip away.   In 1888, John invented a wine drink that he tried to sell as mouthwash.  As mouthwashes go it wasn’t all that good but it did taste good, so he began selling it as a drink.  He decided to incorporate his soft drink company but after the first year, sales weren’t that good.  He sold seventy five dollars’ worth of the stuff that cost him fifty dollars to make. So in order to make some money to pursue other interests, he sold the company to an employee for a mere $2,300.   Ten years later, sales were better. Coca Cola, the company he started to sale the drink by the same name was now the number one drink in the country.   Short term think...

  Every preacher has one great sermon, that doesn’t mean he is a great preacher. A student can ace a test; it doesn’t mean he is going to pass the course. An athlete can have a great year, but that doesn’t mean he is going to the hall of fame.   In his autobiography of his stand-up career, Steve Martin had this to say: It was easy to be great. Every entertainer has a night when everything is clicking. These nights are accidental and statistical: Like lucky cards in poker, you can count on them occurring over time. What was hard was to be good, consistently good, night after night, no matter what the abominable circumstances .   Yet when it comes to faith some think differently. Faith is a moment. A once and done kind of thing. In the right place, at a certain time, when the mood is right, I will have faith and then that’s all I need. I really felt the presence of God. I was on a spiritual high. I was moved.  Faith is momentary.   That, ho...