LIKE PULLING TEETH

Have you ever had a loose tooth? I think it’s safe to say that everybody has. It’s usually not long until they come out all by themselves. I lost several teeth this way when I was young. I remember being told that if I put them under my pillow the tooth fairy would take them and leave me some money. I did that several times until I finally realized the adults in my family were the tooth fairies.

One day I was at my mom and dad’s and I had a loose tooth. Well, my dad told me I didn’t need to wait for it to come out by itself because I might swallow it. Then I wouldn’t get any money from the tooth fairy. He suggested we tie one end of a string around my tooth and the other end around a doorknob. I was reluctant because I was afraid it would hurt, but I went along with his plan. When we got everything set up and I was just the right distance from the open door, my dad quickly slammed it. As it closed with a thud, my head jerked forward and the string fell to the floor. It didn’t hurt as bad as I thought it was going to. Maybe it didn’t work. Well, that’s what I thought. My dad pulled the string up from the floor and hanging there on the end was my bloody tooth. It did work.

That one was easy, but when I grew up, I had to have a tooth pulled because it was causing me pain. It wasn’t loose, so the dentist had to cut it out. One of my wisdom teeth had grown in wrong and caused the tooth in front of it to develop a cavity, so he had to remove two teeth to get the bad one out. It took him two hours to remove those two teeth. Now, I truly understand the expression, “Like Pulling Teeth.”

Just like my loose tooth that needed to come out, we sometimes have things in our lives that we need to do, but we put them off because we are afraid. We make things hard, “Like Pulling Teeth” that aren’t loose. Many times, we need to just do it and get it over with. Here’s where we fail, and this is what leads to fear. We should always ask God what we need to do first. He needs to be a part of every decision we make, and he will be if we always put him first and always seek to please him.

Too many of us want to be in control of our own lives and do what we want, but then we run to God to fix whatever mess we get into by doing what we want. We make things “like pulling teeth.” Stop, Look, and Listen! God is all-knowing. He has wisdom that we could never have and he does know what’s best for each of us in any given situation. We need to realize that and accept it.

God doesn’t want to be our boss. He wants to be our guide. He wants us to be happy, healthy, and wise. He wants us to prosper. He has plans for each of us. If we follow him, we will not go wrong. Following God is more than just walking the same path behind him, though. The Greek word for FOLLOW means “to be in the same way with,” or “to accompany.” He is right there WITH us on our journey to protect us and guide us.

Talk to God. Communicate with him at all times, not just when you need something. Build your life around him and his word, The Bible. Ask him what you should do, daily, and do what he says and you’ll soon find yourself happy. No, everything won’t be perfect but you’ll make fewer mistakes and bad decisions. Don’t make life hard “like pulling teeth.” Give it all to God and follow him. Life will be better here, and you’ll be able to live with God forever when this life is over. Give it a try. I dare you.

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THE 12 DISCIPLES AND THE 12 APOSTLES

The twelve disciples are mentioned four times in the gospels. Matthew referred to them in the first verse of chapter 10 and again in the first verse of chapter 11. Mark wrote about them in verse 17 of chapter 20, while Luke mentioned them in Luke 9:1. Did Jesus have only twelve disciples? Some people think that’s the case, but Bible students understand this is not the case at all?

Jesus chose twelve men to be with him daily, to be close to him, to learn from him, and to help him in his ministry. These twelve are referred to as disciples but they were also called Apostles by Jesus (Luke 6:13). They were the twelve pillars of the new testament church, Jesus being the foundation. They are called Apostles in fifty-nine verses of the new testament, but four of those verses refer to them specifically as the twelve Apostles. According to Strong’s Concordance, an Apostle is an Ambassador, or a Delegate, a Special Messenger.

Although the Bible does refer to the twelve Apostles as the twelve disciples a few times, they were not the only disciples of Jesus. In the word of God, all of Christ’s followers were called disciples, not just twelve of them. He had thousands of disciples when he was here on earth and millions more since he went back to heaven. If you’ve been born again, then you’re his disciple, as well.

We often say the word disciple means follower, but it actually has a deeper meaning than what we think of today when we hear the word. In the Greek language, it means learner or student. The true disciples of Jesus will spend time with him every day and learn from him through prayer and Bible study. Then they will practice what they learn and become more like Jesus every day. At least, that’s how should be.

James, the Lord’s brother, tells us to be doers of God’s word and not hearers only (James 1:22). He said we will be blessed if we follow God’s instructions. If we want to truly follow Jesus we must be doers and not just hearers. So let’s be students of Jesus. Let’s listen, and learn from him. Let’s read, study, and obey his word, and claim the blessings that come from being a disciple of the One who created the universe and everything in it.

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© 2017 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
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