GRANDMA AND THE OLD CLOCK

More memories from my school days at Gift are still rattling around in my head. This time we go back to Kindergarten. The first grade was not in the same building as the second through eighth-grade classes, and the Kindergarten class wasn’t either. In fact, it wasn’t even in the same lot. There was the School, a big, brick, and concrete building. The first grade was in a mobile home that had been converted into a classroom. It was located behind the school. The Kindergarten class was in a house on the other side of the playground, and across a field with some trees.

I remember playing outside in the sandbox. It was fun, but I liked exploring more than digging around in a sandbox that a cat had used for a litter box. I went all over the yard, as far as I was allowed to go. One day I found an old alarm clock in the weeds. I was always intrigued by things like that; things I could take apart to see how they worked.

I went and showed it to one of my teachers, and she said I could have it, so I took it home. When I got there that evening and started playing with it, my grandmother asked me where I got it. I told her, but she didn’t believe me. I don’t remember telling a lie until a few years later in life, but maybe I did. Whatever the reason, she told me to take it back, and tell the teacher I had stolen it. 

I took it back the next day and tried to give it to the teacher. I told her I couldn’t keep it, and I told her what my grandmother had said. My teacher came to see my grandmother at our house and straightened it all out. My grandmother apologized to me, and I got to keep the clock. 

My wife and I have raised three kids of our own now, and I think I understand a little of what my grandmother went through raising me and two of my sisters. It’s not easy. I remember several times when I thought my kids had lied, but I found out I was wrong. All I could do was say “I’m sorry” and move on. I hope they all understand that no parent is perfect, and if they haven’t already, I hope they’ll forgive me for the times I was wrong while trying to prepare them for adulthood. If they don’t understand now, they will as they raise their own children. I pray they will always trust God, and allow him to guide them in this very important responsibility.

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ARE YOU BEING DECEIVED?

No one wants to believe they are deceived. No one wants to believe they could ever be deceived. Because of this fact, many are deceived and don’t even have a clue. There’s a song that says “them that don’t know, don’t know they don’t know.” Do you get it? If you don’t know something, then you’re not aware that you don’t know it. If a person is deceived they don’t know they are deceived.

With so many different denominations and religious movements teaching so many different doctrines, it’s difficult to know what the truth is. Difficult, but not impossible. There are those who study the Bible to understand for themselves what it teaches, then there are those who don’t. Those who don’t have set themselves up to be deceived.

In the book of Acts, Paul, and Silas went to the city of Berea and went into the synagogue of the Jews. The Bible says the people of Berea received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures DAILY, to see if what they were being taught was true.

If you don’t want to be deceived concerning the Bible, then you need to read and study it for yourself. Even then you have to be careful and allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you to the truth. We can deceive ourselves if we don’t understand a few things first.

We put ourselves into everything we do in life. It’s impossible not to. Have you ever heard the expression, “Wherever You Go, There You Are?” Well, that’s true. Whatever we do, whatever we say, or write, comes from what we have seen, heard, or experienced. It’s no different when it comes to studying the Bible.

When we read something, we understand it based on how we think, and what we have learned. Even our understanding of word definitions color our thought process. That’s one reason there are so many different variations of the same doctrines and so many different denominations.

When reading the Bible there are several things we need in order to understand it properly. One is a desire to know the truth and understand God’s word. Another is a realization that this book was written a long time ago, in a place, and about a place far away from where most of us live today. We also need to understand that there are words and phrases in the Bible that mean something different now than when they were written.

I recommend you have a Strong’s Concordance when studying the Bible. It will help you understand what certain words meant when they were written and what words the English words were translated from. I also recommend the Free computer program called e-Sword which has the Strong’s Concordance integrated and a ton of other helpful tools. e-Sword is now available for iPhones and iPads as well.

The Bible usually interprets itself, and the King James Version has a built-in dictionary that shows you the meanings of many words and phrases right in the text. The more familiar you become with the Bible, the better you’ll understand it, so read it every day.

We should always come to the Bible as little children, with humble, teachable spirits, and be willing to change our beliefs when we realize that they are different from God’s Truth. We should always pray and ask God to guide us in our understanding of scripture. Who better to help us understand the word of God than the One who inspired the men who wrote it? (2 Peter 1:21)

You must put away all preconceived ideas. This may sound radical, but try this the next time you pick up your Bible. Pray first and ask God to show you the truth, and keep you from being deceived. Then, forget everything you think you know about the Bible. Forget all you’ve heard and all you’ve been taught about the Bible. Forget what your denomination teaches, and read the Bible like it’s a brand new book you’re reading for the first time. Only then will you begin to understand the truth of God’s word. If everyone will do this, the Bible will finally become to us the book that God intended it to be from the beginning, and we will join the ranks of those who make up the true church scattered throughout the entire world. The ones who know the truth, and have been made free by it.

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SANTA CLAUS AND JESUS

As I stood there staring into space, a full range of emotions flooded my entire soul. My heart pounded inside my chest as if it were trying to escape. Then it seemed to move upward into my throat. I could barely breathe. I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. How could this be? My whole world had just been shattered into tiny pieces. I had just discovered, to my utter disappointment, that Santa Claus was not real. Now, this may seem like a gross overreaction, but to a child of only eight, I had never dreamed that anything like this could ever happen to me. Such a revelation just seemed to be too much to bear.

It was more than just realizing the fat man in the red and white suit was a fairy tale. Everything that I had ever believed, now came into question. How could everybody have lied to me for so long? How could they? Had it all been a lie? Everything? Could I trust anything that I had been told? Was it all lies? The Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy? What about Jesus? Was he real or just another story? Would I find out later that God doesn’t exist? I mean, I had never seen him either so I couldn’t know for sure.

Now, your experience may not be as dramatic as mine was, but have you ever wondered how other children react when they find out their parents have been lying to them for years? To say that a “Little White Lie” doesn’t have a long-term effect on people is to deny human nature. The subconscious is a very powerful thing.

For just a moment, think about the last time you found out someone had lied to you. How did you feel? How long did it take you to get over it? Have you gotten over it yet? People should stop lying to their children. In fact, people should stop lying, period. Especially people who claim to be Christians. It sets a bad example for the kids and it’s a bad witness.

I don’t know, maybe people have forgotten the definition of lying. Dictionary.com says lying is saying something that is false or untrue.* Maybe they have forgotten that lying is a sin? I keep hearing people say, “Everybody lies.” Well, if everybody lies, there will be nobody in heaven because the Bible says ALL liars will burn in hell fire (Rev. 21:8). Even if it were true that “Everybody Lies,” just because “Everybody’s Doing It” doesn’t make it right. I’m not judging anybody, because I’m not the judge, and I’ve done more than my share of lying in the past. At some point, we all need to grow up, and act like adults, and take responsibility for our actions, instead of lying about what we have said or done, and we need to stop the tradition of lying to our children. We need to let the Santa lie die.

How many souls have been lost? How many will be lost because of this so-called “harmless,” “little” “white lie?” How many children grow up and reject Jesus, placing him in the same category as the unreal, made-up, pretend, fairy tales they knew as a child and eventually grew out of? Remember, there’s no such thing as a white lie or a little lie. A lie is a lie, and lying is a sin. It’s that simple, and no amount of reasoning will ever change that fact. ---

Definition of LYING

* http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lying

The Most Popular Sin

https://teddylynn.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-most-popular-sin.html

For information on how the legend of Santa began, follow this link. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus

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© 2014 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

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