#38 –  The Deck of Cards – April 17, 2025

                (I am slowly on the road to recovery and, before I begin my articles again, I want to thank, “with much gratefulness”, the thoughts, prayers, and cards from all of you.  I hope that I am able to slowly get back to the writing that I have missed during this time. I’m hoping to post every two weeks to start and eventually begin a weekly submittal again. Thank you and may you all have a joyous and happy Easter!)

Proverbs 4:20-21, “My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.”

                For this article, I have copied something that I heard many years ago and many of you have also heard it…but perhaps have forgotten. It’s an old song (that wasn’t actually sung) by Tex Williams entitled “Deck of Cards”.  It reminds us that there may be times when we don’t have our Bible, we can still get the comfort of knowing that God’s Word is still with us; in our hearts and in our minds.  Below is that “song”.

                This is the story of the soldier boy that was brought before the camp Marshall for playing cards in church.  “What do you have to say for yourself son”, asked the Marshall, “because if not, I’m going to punish you more than any man.”

                “Well, you see sir, we’ve been on a long march for six days.  And I had neither prayer book nor Bible.  But I hope to satisfy you with the purity of my intentions.”

                And so the story began…

                “You see sir, when I look at my deck of cards and see the Ace, I know that there is only One God.

                The deuce reminds me that the Bible is divided into two parts; the Old Testament and the New Testament.

                The trey reminds me of the Trinity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

                And when I see the four, I’m reminded of the four evangelists who preached the gospel; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

                The five reminds me of the five wise virgins who trimmed their lamps.  Although there were ten, five were wise and saved, and five were foolish and were cast out.

                The six reminds me that in six days God created this great Heaven and Earth.

                And on the seventh day God rested from His work and called it “Holy”.

                The eight reminds me of the eight righteous persons God saved from the flood when He destroyed the earth; Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives.

                The nine reminds me of the lepers our Savior cleansed.  And do you know that 9 out of the 10, never even thanked Him…only one did.

                The ten, of course, reminds me of the Ten Commandments that were handed down to Moses on tablets of stone.

                And the Jack, or the Knave…that’s the Devil.

                And when I see the Queen I think of the Blessed Virgin Mary who is Queen in Heaven.

                The King reminds me, once again, that there is only one King of Heaven; God Almighty.

                When I count the number of spots on my deck of cards, I get 365; the number of days in a year and 52 cards represent the number of weeks in a year. Thirteen tricks represent the number of weeks in a quarter; twelve picture cards represent the twelve months in a year; four suits is the number of weeks in a month.

                So you see sir, my deck of cards has served me as Almanac, Prayer Book and …Bible.

                When I sit on my front porch on a warm summer day, I also am reminded of the many precious blessings that our Father has given to us; the beautiful blue sky, the birds singing, beauty of the flowers, towering trees, and the majestic mountains.  So many things in our everyday life can remind us of His love and grace for us all, even the simplest of things.  When we are reminded of them, take a moment to thank Him.

                1 Corinthians 11:2, “Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.”

                During your trips around town, or on vacations, if you don’t have your Bible with you, you can still be reminded of the beautiful and blessed glory He gives to us each and every day. 

                And remember, He is with us all the time…even in a Deck of Cards.

Nancy Stoppe                     

Stoppe123@comcast.net

 (Jenner Township Baptist Church, Boswell, PA 15531)

Blog – inspirationalinsights6.com

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