The Journey: Hebrews

Showing posts with label Hebrews. Show all posts

January 19, 2020

THE ANGEL AND THE HITCHHIKER

When I was a young man, I had several strange experiences. I want to share a couple of them with you today. This one happened when I was nineteen or twenty years old. I was a young Christian and I was always looking for opportunities to help others. When I saw someone with car trouble on the side of the road, I would stop and try to help. When I saw someone walking, I would always stop and offer them a ride.

One day, I was driving West on Highway 72 just outside Walnut, Mississippi. I saw a man walking on the side of the road and figured he needed a ride so I pulled off the road just in front of him to see if he did. I didn’t even have time to ask if he needed a ride. As soon as I stopped, he hurried to my car and opened the passenger side door, and got in. I asked him where he was going and he said, “Just up the road.”

He started talking as soon as he sat down. He didn’t give me much opportunity to say anything. In the midst of all his talking, he said he was an angel. I was surprised, and a bit skeptical. His eyes looked like he had been drinking, and his clothes and hair were a mess, so I had my doubts. I don’t remember half of what he said because he was talking a mile a minute. He talked about all kinds of stuff including God and angels, and then he started saying something about Mexican people being demons; Diablos, he said. Right away I knew he wasn’t what he was claiming to be.

He might be an angel, but not an angel of God. I didn’t know how to respond to the crazy things he was saying. When he seemed to finally be out of things to say, I nervously said, “Are you really an angel?” As I asked the question, I glanced his way. I could see that he was very angry as he turned and stared at me with bloodshot eyes and an evil look on his face. With a loud voice, he said, “Man, I don’t lie. You don’t know what I can do. I could kill you and take your car, and leave you on the side of the road. I could destroy that bridge and pick this car up off the road and fly us right across.”

At that point, I didn’t hear or understand anything else he said. I just remember he was talking loud and cursing. I was so scared that all I could do was pray. I said, “God, please help me. Please get this guy out of my car.” Well, God answered my prayer. A traffic light was just ahead, and Thank God it was red. As soon as I stopped, the guy opened the door and stepped out of the car, and walked away without saying a word. As soon as that light changed to green, I got out of there as fast as I could. I was so glad and so thankful to God for answering my plea for help. I thanked him over and over for protecting me and getting me away from that guy unharmed. Thank you again, Father. Thank you.

Another time, before that incident, I was on the same road, headed in the same direction, but further east. I was driving with the windows down enjoying the fresh air. It was late spring or early summer. It was late afternoon and the weather was nice. The sun was shining but there was a nice cool breeze. I remember seeing the yellow sage grass on the lower side of the road softly moving back and forth.

I was leaving Corinth, headed west when I saw a man walking West on the shoulder of the highway. He was carrying a small bag on his shoulder so I figured he was traveling a good distance. I pulled off the road a few yards in front of him and waited for him to walk up to the car so I could offer him a ride. He walked up to the passenger door and bent down to look inside the car. I said, “Do you need a ride?” He looked at me with a smile and said, “No, it’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining. I think I’ll just walk, and enjoy it for a while.” I said, “Okay. You have a good day.” He said, “And you as well.”

I checked for traffic, then pulled out on the highway. As I drove away, I glanced at the rear-view mirror to take a last look at the guy, but I didn’t see him. I quickly turned and look out my back window but he just wasn’t there. Where was he? What had happened to him? I thought he may have stepped down the embankment on the side of the road, or maybe he had sat down. Back then, the road was only two lanes, so I quickly turned around and went back to where I had stopped and talked to him. He was nowhere in sight. I looked everywhere, but he was just gone. He disappeared too quickly for any other explanation. I’m sure I encountered an angel that day. When that thought occurred to me, I remembered the smile and the look of peace on his face and how calm and gentle his voice was when he spoke to me, and then I was sure. He must have been an angel, or Jesus himself. That was an amazing experience. It reminds me of two verses from the Bible. One is found in Hebrews 13:2.

Hebrews 13:2
2 Do not forget to entertain strangers because by doing so, some have unknowingly entertained angels.

I’ve had several amazing experiences, and some very strange ones when stopping to help people and giving people rides on the highway over the years, and I’m so thankful to God for protecting me when I’m trying to help others. In our world today, it can be dangerous to deal with strangers, but that shouldn’t deter us from helping others. I still stop and offer to help people, but I pray first and ask God if I should. Sometimes he says yes, and sometimes he says no. If I don’t stop I always pray for them. Sometimes that’s all you can do for people anyway, but if it were me out there, I would hope someone would at least offer to help.

Constant communication with God is very important. 1 Thessalonians 5:1 says, “Pray without ceasing.” We need his guidance in every situation. We don’t need to wait until we’re in trouble before asking for his help. Many times, the messes we get ourselves in could have been avoided if we had just talked to him first. We can be good Christians. We can obey God and show love and kindness to others like we’re commanded and we can be safe from those who would harm us if we depend on him for help and guidance.

The second verse I was thinking of is found in Matthew 25:31-46 where Jesus is talking about what will happen in the judgment when he returns and separates the sheep from the goats; the saved from the lost.

He basically said, whatever we do to others in need, we are doing it to him.
We can help him or ignore him, but there’s a price to pay for ignoring people in need. Compassion for others seems to be rare these days but it shouldn’t be, and it wouldn’t be if we would all follow the Golden Rule that Jesus laid out in Matthew 7:12.

Matthew 7:12
12 So treat others like you want them to treat you…

If everyone would just follow this simple rule, the world would be a much better place.

———————————————–
My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

June 02, 2018

MY OTHER LITTLE SISTER

I was about six years old and my sister was sixteen months younger than me. One day we went to the little country store that had recently opened up in front of our house. The owner’s name was Amos. My grandmother had known him since he was a little boy. Around mid-day, there were always several men sitting around inside eating lunch.

I don’t remember exactly what it was, but my sister, Loretta, wanted to get something and my grandmother told her no. So she fell down on the floor and threw a tantrum. She was crying, and kicking, and screaming. All of a sudden, from out of nowhere, our grandmother grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet, and gave her a good spanking right there in front of the store owner and all those men. Let me tell you, she never ever acted like that again.

Another time, though, we had gone to that same store and returned home. That’s when our grandmother noticed that Loretta had a candy bar. She asked her, “Where did you get that candy bar?” She said, “From the store.” Our grandmother told her she had to take it back and tell Amos that she had stolen it. She didn’t want to do that so our grandmother went outside and got a small branch from a tree and stripped the leaves off. We called that a switch back then.

She gave her a switching and we all headed back to the store. We went inside and walked up to the counter. Loretta laid the candy bar on the counter and said, “I stole this.” Amos said, “Oh, it’s alright. You can have it.” My grandmother quickly spoke up and said, “No it’s not alright. I ain’t gonna have them stealing.” We left and went back home. I never knew of her ever stealing anything again.

I believe that one of the reasons there are so many disrespectful, lying, thieving people out there today is because they were not disciplined as children. There’s nothing wrong with disciplining your child in a loving manner. I don’t think you should ever discipline them while you’re angry, though. You should pray and ask for God’s help and guidance before doing anything. I wish I had done that when I was raising my three.

If we would get back to raising our children God’s way, our world would be a better place. We need to make God number one in our lives and follow his word. Here are a few versed from the Holy Bible about disciplining children.

Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 29:17 – Correct your son, and he will give you rest. Yes, he will give delight to your soul.

Proverbs 29:15 – The rod and correction give wisdom: but a child left to himself brings his mother to shame.

Proverbs 22:15 – Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him.

Proverbs 23:13-14 – Do not withhold correction from the child because if you hit him with the rod, he will not die. You will hit him with the rod and will deliver his soul from hell.

Proverbs 13:24 – He that spares the rod hates his son, but he that loves him disciplines him early.

Hebrews 12:11 – No discipline seems to be delightful at the time, but sorrowful, but afterward it brings the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.

God tells us to discipline our children and train them to do right. They need to understand there are consequences for all wrongdoing. That will help them learn to obey God and avoid the flames of hell fire which is the ultimate consequence of doing wrong. Consistent, loving, discipline works, and when they’re grown, your children will understand, and they'll be grateful that you cared enough to correct them, just like my sister is thankful for our grandmother’s discipline today.

March 30, 2018

18 WHEELS AND A DOZEN PRAISES

I remember it like it was yesterday. Well, maybe not that vividly, but pretty well. My family and I went to a used car lot to buy a new car for me to drive back and forth to work each day. Do you get the joke? New car, used car lot. Ok, well, it was new to me. After praying first, we looked at several different cars and were about to decide that we were not going to find one there that we felt good about buying.

That’s when we saw it. It wasn’t in the rows with the other cars. It was sitting beside the building with some other less desirable ones.

I tried it out and felt pretty good about the dependability and the price, so, after my boys climbed in, I drove it away as my wife and daughter followed.

The car was a small, blue Geo Metro. It had twelve-inch tires and only three cylinders. It only had 80 MPR on the speedometer, but I don’t even know if it could do eighty. If it could, it did one morning, about five o’clock. I was taking my kids to the babysitter on my way to work.

We were going through town, minding our own business, and obeying the speed limit. I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw an eighteen-wheeler coming up on us pretty fast. I said something about it to the kids and they looked back just in time to see it bearing down on us. I saw that it wasn’t going to stop, or change lanes so I put the pedal to the metal.

We were going as fast as that little car could possibly go. It was shaking all over and screaming, and so were the kids. We were only a foot or two away from being twisted up under that big highway monster. We think the driver may have been falling asleep or something. Anyway, the truck finally started slowing down and we started pulling away from it.

Thank God! We were safe again. We were so grateful to be alive and I praise the Lord for saving us that morning. I don’t mind telling you I was scared to death and so were my kids. I don’t remember praying while it was going on. It all happened so fast and it was over before we knew it. That’s one reason why it’s so important to stay in constant communication with God.

We always prayed before we drove away to go anywhere. We would God to be with us and protect us and keep us safe there and back and we still do all these years later. I talk to God throughout the day. It’s easy when you truly know that he is right there with you constantly.

Sometimes people make the mistake of thinking he’s just up in heaven and we have to kneel and close our eyes to talk to him like we’re making a phone call. Some people even think you have to go to a church building to communicate with God, but that’s the wrong idea. We should always be reverent when speaking to our Creator, of course, but if you’ve been born again, then the Holy Spirit is living in your mind. You’re a child of God. You can talk to him any time and anywhere, in any condition and any position, whether you’re kneeling, standing, or lying down, and with your eyes open or closed.

The important thing is to talk to him. He’s always listening and he’s always talking to us. Sometimes we let our minds drift into areas where they shouldn’t be, or neglect to take time to talk to him. Sometimes we’re angry and sometimes we may sin. In those times it becomes harder for us to hear his voice, but he’s always there. He said he would never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says we should pray without ceasing. That’s constant communication. That’s how God changes us into holy people. He tells us what to do and what not to do as we listen to him. So talk, listen, and communicate with our loving God and allow him to sanctify you, and I’ll see you on the other side, at the end of our journey.

———————————————–
My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

March 18, 2018

THE VOLKSWAGEN BUG, OUR SINS, AND HIS BLOOD

It happened one evening in late summer. I still lived in the Horseshoe Bend valley. I walked up to the top of the hill to my cousin’s house like I did almost every day, but he wasn’t home. His mother told me that he had gone to buy a used car and should be back anytime now. I waited for him for what seemed like forever. Then, the sun moved behind the trees and slowly disappeared, leaving the red and yellow sky to fade into gray, then finally to black. A little while after dark, we saw two sets of headlights coming down the gravel road. The car in the rear was my uncle. He was following my cousin as he drove his new used car into their driveway.

To my surprise, he was driving an old, white Volkswagen bug. It wasn’t in bad shape at all, but the paint was scratched and faded. He wanted to do something to fix it immediately, so he had stopped and bought several cans of black spray paint. He parked as close to the house as he could so we could use the porch light to paint by. Like I said, though, it was late summer and the nights were beginning to get a bit chilly. It wasn’t bad when we started painting but by the time we finished, the dew was falling and it was getting cool. We did the best we could with spray cans and limited lighting, and it really didn’t look too bad when we finished.

The next morning I went to his house and was shocked to see what the car looked like in the daylight. It was hideous. It looked like a monkey had painted it. The dirty, white, scratched-up paint was showing through the splotches of black paint where it had been sprayed lighter and unevenly. It was a big mess.

That’s the way it is when we try to hide our sins. No matter what we do, nor how hard we try, they always show through when the Light shines on them. The only way we can have our sins covered is by the blood of the Lamb. The blood of Jesus actually washes our sins away. That’s the only way we can be free from sin and enter into heaven. Hebrews 9:22 says, Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sins. That’s why Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, and died in our place, then rose again.

In Ephesians 1:7, the Apostle Paul says our sins are forgiven through the blood of Jesus. Jesus said that he is the only way for us to be saved (John 14:6). He also said if we don’t believe in him, we will die in our sins (John 8:24). John tells us that IF we walk in the Light, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). But, we have to confess our sins to him. Then we have the promise that he will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Don’t try to cover your sins. You can’t do it. You might hide them for a while, but they will weigh you down and torture you, then eventually, they’ll show through. Let Jesus wash your sins away with his blood. Ask him to forgive your sins and make you a new creature. He’s faithful and always keeps his promises. He wants to give you eternal life so he can be with you forever. He loves you that much. Time is growing short, though. Soon this world will end and your fate will be sealed, so don’t put it off another minute. He’s waiting to hear from you.

———————————————–
My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

October 17, 2014

PHARAOH DROWNED IN THE RED SEA

There are at least three movies called The Ten Commandments, and countless other movies, and TV shows about Moses and the exodus from Egypt. Most of us have probably heard or seen the story in one form or another, but do we really know what happened? I’ve been watching “Bible movies” all my life, and I’ve never seen one that was 100% accurate. There may be some out there because I’m sure I haven’t seen them all, but in the ones I have seen, there’s always something that doesn’t go along with what the Bible says. In everything I have seen about this particular story, Pharaoh usually lives and goes back to Egypt a broken man, to rule a broken kingdom, but, that’s NOT what happened. God’s word says that Pharaoh died in the Red Sea along with his army. Let’s take a look at what the Bible says.

Exodus 14: 5-6
5. And the king of Egypt was told that the people fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and the hearts of his servants were turned against the people, and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”
6. And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:

Pharaoh himself went after Moses and the Hebrews, and he took his people with him.

Exodus 14: 9-10
9. But the Egyptians pursued after them, ALL the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, AND his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.
10. And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid, and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.

Notice who all went with Pharaoh: ALL the Horses and Chariots, AND his Horsemen AND his Army. Then God spoke to Moses…

Exodus 14:18
18. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD when I have gotten myself honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

Exodus 14:21-23
21. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
22. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
23. And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea. All Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

Exodus 14:28
28. And the waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. There remained not so much as one of them.

Notice, they ALL went into the sea. This is reaffirmed in Exodus chapter 15, and in the book of Psalms.

Psalm 106:9-11
9. He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up. So he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
10. And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11. And the waters covered their enemies. There was not one of them left.

There was Not One Left. None of them. They ALL drowned.

Exodus 15:19
19. For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea,…

Would Pharaoh’s horse go into the sea without Pharaoh? Maybe. But the next verse shows Pharaoh went in, too.

Psalm 136:15
15. But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea.

There it is in plain English.

1. Pharaoh Followed the Hebrews (Exod. 14:6-10).
2. Pharaoh took ALL the Horses and Chariots, AND his Horsemen AND his Army with him (Exod. 14:9, 23).
3. Pharaoh and All his horses, his chariots, and his horsemen went into the Red Sea (Exod. 14:23, 15:19).
4. Pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea with his army (Ps. 136:15, 106:9-11, Exod. 14:18, 28).

The Bible is clear about it. We should trust God’s word, no matter what Science and History may say. Time and time again, archaeology has proven the events recorded in the Bible are true, though Science and History said for years that it was wrong. I would like to suggest that we believe the Bible, and stop trying to make God’s word fit into the mold of what men say happened in history. When we have a question, we need to ask ourselves, What Does The Bible Say?

———————————————–

My Blogs

https://teddylynn.blogspot.com

https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6